trolling

1. 1
   noununcountable

   The act of provoking other people, in any of the various ways a troll does.

   The forum's moderators ban accounts for persistent trolling.

   Critics dismissed the senator's late-night posts as deliberate trolling.

   Similarprovocation, baiting

2. 2
   verb

   Present participle and gerund of troll.

   Someone has been trolling the team's fan forum all week with fake trade rumors.

   They spent the morning trolling for salmon off the point with two lines out.

3. 3
   noununcountable

   A method of fishing in which one or more baited lines are dragged through the water by a moving boat.

   Salmon season opens next week, and the charter boats are already rigged for trolling.

   Trolling lets anglers cover miles of open water in a single morning.

   Note

   Its near-twin in sound is trawling, and the two are easily swapped. The gear tells them apart: trolling pulls baited lines behind a moving boat, so the fish must take the bait, while trawling drags a net through the water. If there is a hook, it is trolling; if there is a net, it is trawling.

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