Translation trail in the English-French Collins dictionary

trail

(=track)
to be on sb's trail  être sur la piste de qn
→ on the trail of the world's most ruthless terrorist
→ She put a private detective on his trail.
to leave a trail of sth  laisser qch derrière soi
He left a trail of dirty marks all over the house.  Il a laissé des traces de saleté partout derrière lui dans la maison.
→ He left a trail of clues at the scenes of his crimes.

(=path) chemin m , piste f
→ He was following a broad trail through the trees.
They set out on the trail once again.  Ils se remirent en chemin.

[+smoke] traînée f

(=pull, dangle) laisser traîner
→ She came down the stairs slowly, trailing her coat behind her.
She trailed her fingers through the water. Elle laissait traîner ses doigts dans l'eau.

(=follow) pister
→ They trailed the animal for four hours.
→ I trailed her to a shop in Kensington.
Two detectives were trailing him.  Deux détectives le pistaient.

(=drag) traîner
→ Part of her dress was trailing on the floor.
→ He let his fingers trail in the water.

(=move slowly) traîner
→ I spent long afternoons trailing along behind my mother.
He trailed through the wet streets. Il traînait dans les rues humides.

(=be losing)
[team] être mené(e)
United were trailing 2-0 at half-time. United était mené 2-0 à la mi-temps.