trait

[ treyt; British also trey ]
See synonyms for trait on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a distinguishing characteristic or quality, especially of one's personal nature:bad traits of character.

  2. a pen or pencil stroke.

  1. a stroke, touch, or strain, as of some quality: a trait of pathos; a trait of ready wit.

Origin of trait

1
First recorded in 1470–80; from Middle French: literally, “something drawn,” from Latin tractus; see tract1

Other words for trait

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use trait in a sentence

  • You will find these two traits in every grade of Scotch life—in tradesman, mechanic, and peasant.

    Friend Mac Donald | Max O'Rell
  • The hive bee, the most communal in habit, shows the highest traits of intelligent activity.

    Man And His Ancestor | Charles Morris
  • In a flash of the eye, with an unequalled clear-sightedness, he disentangled from all the traits—just the one.

    Charles Baudelaire, His Life | Thophile Gautier
  • While only in minor traits communal, they are eminently social, and have doubtless derived great advantage from this.

    Man And His Ancestor | Charles Morris
  • Especially he learned the character of Miss Prall, or, rather, the traits of her character that interested the Everett household.

    In the Onyx Lobby | Carolyn Wells

British Dictionary definitions for trait

trait

/ (treɪt, treɪ) /


noun
  1. a characteristic feature or quality distinguishing a particular person or thing

  2. rare a touch or stroke

Origin of trait

1
C16: from French, from Old French: a pulling, from Latin tractus, from trahere to drag

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for trait

trait

[ trāt ]


  1. A genetically determined characteristic or condition. Traits may be physical, such as hair color or leaf shape, or they may be behavioral, such as nesting in birds and burrowing in rodents. Traits typically result from the combined action of several genes, though some traits are expressed by a single gene.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.