tracing paper

American  

noun

1. a thin, transparent paper for making tracings.

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tracing paper British  

noun

1. strong transparent paper used for tracing

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Etymology

Origin of tracing paper

First recorded in 1815–25

Example Sentences

“We used tracing paper and pieced it together,” Hannah says.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 2026

She makes these drawings using graphite, paint and colored pencils to draw on various layers of softly folded, semi-translucent tracing paper.

From Seattle Times • May 24, 2023

When his dealer held up a piece of the gridded, pencil-marked tracing paper that Mr. Wesley used throughout his career to translate newspaper and magazine imagery onto canvas with hallucinatory alterations, his eyes twinkled mischievously.

From New York Times • Feb. 10, 2022

Then, I print that out, and I use a Micron pen and tracing paper, and I draw in my own hand all of the little happy faces and squirrels and skulls.

From The Verge • Sep. 15, 2018

They were thin as tracing paper and covered with tiny print.

From "Inkheart" by Cornelia Funke