train

A vehicle made of connected parts that carries people or goods along railway tracks.

• The train is late.
• We took a train to London.
• Did you miss the last train?

Common phrases: catch a train, train station, train ticket, by train

The long back part of a dress that lies on the ground behind the person wearing it.

• Her dress had a long train.
• A bridesmaid lifted the bride’s train.
• The gown’s train was decorated with flowers.

How to use it: the train of something (The train of her gown covered the steps.)

Common phrases: long train, dress train, train of something

A line of people, animals, or vehicles moving one behind another.

• A wagon train crossed the valley.
• We followed a train of pack animals.
• The supply train stretched along the narrow road.

How to use it: a train of something (A train of camels crossed the sand.)

Similar words: procession, caravan

Common phrases: wagon train, camel train, train of something

To teach a person or animal how to do something through instruction and practice.

• She trains guide dogs.
• They trained me to use the machine.
• Who will train the new staff?

How to use it: train someone to do something (We train staff to use the equipment safely.); train someone in something (She trains new employees in customer service.); train as something (He is training as a nurse.)

Similar words: teach, instruct, coach

Common phrases: train a dog, train someone to, train new staff

To exercise or practise regularly to improve a skill or prepare for a competition.

• I train twice a week.
• He trained hard for the race.
• Where does your team train?

How to use it: train for something (She trains for the marathon every morning.)

Similar words: practise, work out

Common phrases: train hard, train for something, train every day

To give a computer system examples so it can learn to perform a task.

• We trained the model on photos.
• This algorithm was trained to identify birds.
• How much data do you need to train it?

How to use it: train something on something (They trained the model on thousands of pictures.); train something to do something (We trained the system to recognise speech.)

Common phrases: train a model, train an algorithm, train on data