Grammar fix
trawl through
search extensively
To search through a large amount of material to find useful information or something specific.
phrasal verb
How oftenCommon
LevelC1
Used inSpeech & writing
Hear it in context
Notice where the phrase sounds natural.
I spent the morning trawling through old messages to find the address.
Before choosing a university, I trawled through dozens of websites comparing fees, course content, and graduate employment rates.
Fix the pattern
One small grammar move makes it sound right.
Not: I trolled through my old emails for the invoice.
Say: I trawled through my old emails for the invoice.
'Trawl' (like a fishing net) means search; 'troll' means post nasty comments online.
Don't confuse it
Other ways to say it
Search a lot of material for something
How exhaustiveSelectiveExhaustive
sift throughSeparating relevant information from a large amount of material.
trawl throughYou're here · Especially British: searching through extensive material for useful information.
comb throughSearching material systematically and very carefully.