English · Idiom Candidate

trot out

Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Sense 1

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

To introduce or exhibit something familiar or old-fashioned

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Ra mắt hoặc trưng bày điều gì đó quen thuộc hoặc lỗi thời

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Literally: to lead out a horse at a trot

Where it’s used: Used Widespread English

Examples

The company will trot out its latest technology at the conference

AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)

Sources & notes

Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.

Sense 2

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

to draw out or exploit, to show off the abilities of a companion; sometimes to roast for the amusement and with the assistance of an assembled company.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

khai thác hoặc展示 khả năng của người khác

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Era: ca. 1874 (Victorian)

Where it’s used: Origin British & Irish English

Sources & notes

Historical definition reproduced from Hotten’s The Slang Dictionary (1874, public domain; Project Gutenberg #42108, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.

Topics: Historical slang (1800s)

Common questions

What does “trot out” mean?

To introduce or exhibit something familiar or old-fashioned Literally: to lead out a horse at a trot

Is “trot out” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.