# trawling

/tɹˈɔːlɪŋ/ (UK) · CEFR C1 · Verb

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/trawling
Updated: 2026-10-16

## Definition

to drag a large fishing net through the sea to catch fish. You also use it for looking carefully through a lot of information, like files or the internet.

For teachers: to drag a large net through water or along the seabed to catch fish; extended to searching systematically through large quantities of information or material.

## Examples

- They are trawling the bay for shrimp today.
- The boats spent the morning trawling along the coast to catch cod for the market.
- Investigators spent weeks trawling through thousands of emails and financial records to trace the source of the missing funds.

## Synonyms

search, scan, comb, sift

## Usage notes

- Transitive when referring to fishing grounds or nets; takes 'through' or 'for' when referring to searching information.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.