spoor

American  

[spoor, spawr, spohr] / spʊər, spɔr, spoʊr /

noun

1. a track or trail, especially that of a wild animal pursued as game.

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verb (used with or without object)

1. to track by or follow a spoor.

spoor British  

/ spʊə, spɔː /

noun

1. the trail of an animal or person, esp as discernible to the human eye

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verb

1. to track (an animal) by following its trail

Other Word Forms

• spoorer noun

Etymology

Origin of spoor

1815–25; < Afrikaans spoor < Dutch; cognate with Old English, Old Norse spor, German Spur; speer

Example Sentences

The automated, data-focused method also streamlines passive acoustic monitoring, offering a more dependable and accessible option than common techniques such as spoor surveys or camera trapping.

From Science Daily

Sweet gums, out; They’re also invasive, triggering allergies, and dropping nasty, spiky balls like alien spoor.

From Los Angeles Times

Volcanoes some distance away from here left behind some sturdy volcanic rock, but also this spoor of volcanic ash that drifted underwater before the PV Peninsula became itself.

From Los Angeles Times

He said he could smell the mould from outside the house and "you could see the black spoors in the air" inside.

From BBC

Mr. Frank’s photographs — of lone individuals, teenage couples, groups at funerals and odd spoors of cultural life — were cinematic, immediate, off-kilter and grainy, like early television transmissions of the period.

From New York Times