trace

¹ American  

[treys] / treɪs /

noun

1. a surviving mark, sign, or evidence of the former existence, influence, or action of some agent or event; vestige.

   traces of an advanced civilization among the ruins.

2. a barely discernible indication or evidence of some quantity, quality, characteristic, expression, etc..

   a trace of anger in his tone.

   Synonyms:

   touch , taste , suggestion , hint

3. an extremely small amount of some chemical component.

   a trace of copper in its composition.

   Antonyms:

   plethora , excess , abundance

4. traces, the series of footprints left by an animal.

5. the track left by the passage of a person, animal, or object.

   the trace of her skates on the ice.

   Synonyms:

   record , spoor , trail , trail

6. Meteorology.  precipitation of less than 0.005 inch (0.127 millimeter).

7. a trail or path, especially through wild or open territory, made by the passage of people, animals, or vehicles.

8. engram.

9. a tracing, drawing, or sketch of something.

10. a lightly drawn line, as the record drawn by a self-registering instrument.

11. Mathematics.

    1. the intersection of two planes, or of a plane and a surface.

    2. the sum of the elements along the principal diagonal of a square matrix.

    3. the geometric locus of an equation.

12. the visible line or lines produced on the screen of a cathode-ray tube by the deflection of the electron beam.

13. Linguistics.  (in generative grammar) a construct that is phonologically empty but serves to mark the place in the surface structure of a sentence from which a noun phrase has been moved by a transformational operation.

14. Obsolete.  a footprint.

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verb (used with object)

traced, tracing

1. to follow the footprints, track, or traces of.

   Synonyms:

   trail , track

2. to follow, make out, or determine the course or line of, especially by going backward from the latest evidence, nearest existence, etc..

   to trace one's ancestry to the Pilgrims.

3. to follow (footprints, evidence, the history or course of something, etc.).

4. to follow the course, development, or history of.

   to trace a political movement.

5. to ascertain by investigation; find out; discover.

   The police were unable to trace his whereabouts.

6. to draw (a line, outline, figure, etc.).

7. to make a plan, diagram, or map of.

8. to copy (a drawing, plan, etc.) by following the lines of the original on a superimposed transparent sheet.

9. to mark or ornament with lines, figures, etc.

10. to make an impression or imprinting of (a design, pattern, etc.).

11. (of a self-registering instrument) to print in a curved, broken, or wavy-lined manner.

12. to put down in writing.

verb (used without object)

traced, tracing

1. to go back in history, ancestry, or origin; date back in time.

   Her family traces back to Paul Revere.

2. to follow a course, trail, etc.; make one's way.

3. (of a self-registering instrument) to print a record in a curved, broken, or wavy-lined manner.

trace ² American  

[treys] / treɪs /

noun

1. either of the two straps, ropes, or chains by which a carriage, wagon, or the like is drawn by a harnessed horse or other draft animal.

2. a piece in a machine, as a bar, transferring the movement of one part to another part, being hinged to each.

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idioms

1. kick over the traces,  to throw off restraint; become independent or defiant.

   He kicked over the traces and ran off to join the navy.

trace ¹ British  

/ treɪs /

noun

1. a mark or other sign that something has been in a place; vestige

2. a tiny or scarcely detectable amount or characteristic

3. a footprint or other indication of the passage of an animal or person

4. any line drawn by a recording instrument or a record consisting of a number of such lines

5. something drawn, such as a tracing

6. a beaten track or path

7. the postulated alteration in the cells of the nervous system that occurs as the result of any experience or learning See also memory trace engram

8. geometry the intersection of a surface with a coordinate plane

9. maths the sum of the diagonal entries of a square matrix

10. linguistics a symbol inserted in the constituent structure of a sentence to mark the position from which a constituent has been moved in a generative process

11. meteorol an amount of precipitation that is too small to be measured

12. archaic  a way taken; route

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verb

1. (tr) to follow, discover, or ascertain the course or development of (something)

   to trace the history of China

2. (tr) to track down and find, as by following a trail

3. to copy (a design, map, etc) by drawing over the lines visible through a superimposed sheet of transparent paper or other material

4. 1. to draw or delineate a plan or diagram of

      she spent hours tracing the models one at a time

   2. to outline or sketch (an idea, policy, etc)

      he traced out his scheme for the robbery

5. (tr) to decorate with tracery

6. (tr) to imprint (a design) on cloth, etc

7. (usually foll by back) to follow or be followed to source; date back

   his ancestors trace back to the 16th century

8. archaic  to make one's way over, through, or along (something)

trace ² British  

/ treɪs /

noun

1. either of the two side straps that connect a horse's harness to the swingletree

2. angling a length of nylon or, formerly, gut attaching a hook or fly to a line

3. to escape or defy control

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Related Words

Trace, vestige agree in denoting marks or signs of something, usually of the past. Trace , the broader term, denotes any mark or slight indication of something past or present: a trace of ammonia in water. Vestige is more limited and refers to some slight, though actual, remains of something that no longer exists: vestiges of one's former wealth.

Other Word Forms

• traceability noun
• traceable adjective
• traceably adverb
• traceless adjective
• tracelessly adverb
• untraced adjective

Etymology

Origin of trace¹

First recorded in 1400–50; Middle English verb trace(n), trase(n) “to make one's way, proceed, move along a set course,” from Old French tra(i)cier, traser, from unattested Vulgar Latin tractiāre, derivative of Latin tractus, past participle of trahere “to draw, drag”; Middle English noun trace tras(e) “way, course, line of footprints, track, trail,” from Old French, derivative of tracier

Origin of trace²

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English trais(e), traice, from Old French trais, tres, plural of trait “harness strap, action of drawing,” from Latin tractus “a drawing, dragging”; tract ¹

Example Sentences

As I traced one of them with my finger, he answered simply that he’d had an operation on his nerves.

From Salon

The review did not seek to trace who accessed or attempted to access the document.

From BBC

The tracing work showed that ACA and ORB each communicate with a variety of cell types in their target regions rather than a single cell class.

From Science Daily

Because photons behave according to quantum mechanics, their polarization cannot be measured without leaving detectable traces.

From Science Daily

They traced the preserved soft anatomy, examined the sediments inside and outside the mummy, and matched the dinosaur's hooves back into a footprint.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• element
• footprint
• fragment
• hint
• indication
• particle
• proof
• relic
• remains
• remnant
• shred
• smell
• speck
• strain
• taste
• tinge
• touch
• vestige
• whiff