trolling

verb

present participle of troll
as in searching
to look through (as a place) carefully or thoroughly in an effort to find or discover something the owner of the bed-and-breakfast often trolls antique stores for furniture and knickknacks

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of trolling Indy, the duck-trolling dog star of Good Boy, received the Best Good Boy in a Horror Movie award. — Erik Pedersen, Deadline, 6 Aug. 2026 The seven of us who were aboard for a fishing trip started to get our deep-trolling gear ready. — James D. Oxley, Outdoor Life, 5 Aug. 2026 Charter boats trolling big bucktails or even umbrella rigs have targeted large, post-spawn fish for decades. — Ken Perrotte, USA Today, 4 Aug. 2026 Not just for his good looks, strong vocals, and charismatic performances, but also for his pretty funny content, especially when trolling the fans. — Laura Sirikul, Forbes.com, 8 July 2026 Gavin Newsom’s workplace issue The outgoing governor of California and anticipated 2028 presidential candidate Gavin Newsom once made headlines for something other than trolling the president of the United States on social media. — Tracy Grant, Encyclopedia Britannica, 26 June 2026 Nine days after the Negra Francisca sank, another Ecuadorean fishing boat was trolling the fertile fishing grounds off the Galapagos. — Foreign Correspondent, Los Angeles Times, 15 June 2026 But there’s something more than trolling at work, something elemental in the response to Scranton. — Literary Hub, 14 May 2026 Further, Musk is accused of using the litigation as part of a harassment campaign trolling Altman. — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 30 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for trolling
  1. searching
  2. scanning
Verb
  • The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department is searching for the driver accused of intentionally crashing into a group of adults and kids playing basketball on a Victorville street yesterday.
    — Matthew Rodriguez, CBS News, 18 Aug. 2026
  • When a movie becomes a cultural event, millions of people start searching for it.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of searching
Verb
  • Video later released by police showed the shooter walking inside and scanning the open gift shop.
    — Mark Dee August 14, Idaho Statesman, 14 Aug. 2026
  • Today’s robots build a picture of the world by scanning their surroundings and stitching pixels together into a map.
    — Noelle Harff, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of scanning

Browse Nearby Words

trollers
trolling
trollop
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Trolling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/trolling. Accessed 19 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on trolling

Nglish: Translation of trolling for Spanish Speakers

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