A fishing boat that drags large nets through the water to catch fish. It can also refer to a person who searches through large amounts of information or data systematically.
From Middle Dutch 'traghen' meaning 'to drag', through the verb 'trawl'. The fishing technique involves dragging nets behind boats, first recorded in English in the 17th century. The metaphorical sense of searching through information developed in the 20th century.
Trawling is both one of the most efficient and most controversial fishing methods - a single trawler can catch tons of fish in one sweep, but the practice also captures unintended species as 'bycatch' and can damage ocean floors, making it an environmental flashpoint.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.