retrace
Americanverb (used with object)
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retraces,
present (3rd person singular)
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retraced,
past participle, past
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retracing
present participle
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to trace backward; go back over.
to retrace one's steps.
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to go back over with the memory.
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to go over again with the sight or attention.
verb
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to go back over (one's steps, a route, etc) again
we retraced the route we took last summer
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to go over (a past event) in the mind; recall
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to go over (a story, account, etc) from the beginning
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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retracesimple
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retracessimple
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have retracedperfect
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has retracedperfect
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am retracingprogressive
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are retracingprogressive
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is retracingprogressive
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have been retracingperfect progressive
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has been retracingperfect progressive
Past
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retracedsimple
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had retracedperfect
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was retracingprogressive
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were retracingprogressive
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had been retracingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of retrace
1690–1700; < French retracer, Middle French retracier, equivalent to re- re- + tracier to trace 1
Explanation
To retrace is to walk the same path again, or to follow a path someone else has taken. You could visit the town your ancestors came from and attempt to retrace their steps there. When you lose your glasses, some helpful person may ask you, "Did you retrace your steps?" What they're suggesting is that you walk everywhere you went earlier, checking as you go to see if you left them on a table or desk nearby. A detective will also retrace someone's steps to solve a crime, looking for clues while walking where the suspect walked. Trace means "outline," but also "follow a line or a path."
Vocabulary lists containing retrace
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
And we set out to retrace the steps of investigators from the moment they arrived at Nancy’s adobe-brick ranch where she was abducted on Feb. 1.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
With Ukrainian airspace closed because of the war with Russia, they will then retrace their steps to Poland and fly to London for next week's second leg.
From BBC ● Apr. 30, 2026
But there’s a limit to how many similar instances, all with the same structure, the film can retrace before it gives way to monotony.
From Salon ● Apr. 26, 2026
“Historically, when you retrace this much of the decline, it’s a good sign,” he adds.
From Barron's ● Apr. 10, 2026
Clasping the safe’s treasure tightly in his fist, the dwarf turned to retrace his steps.
From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer
Based on Homer's epic, Nolan's film retraces the hero Odysseus in a perilous journey to his home on the island of Ithaca after the Trojan War in the 12th century BCE.
From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026
OTTAWA—Retailers in Canada saw a jump in sales in November that retraces weak trade in recent months, hinting at a recovery in household consumption heading into the important holiday season.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 19, 2025
“The Sympathizer” enters the Captain’s story nearly a year into his imprisonment, and many drafts into writing what's deemed as his confession, which reads like a manuscript and retraces his faulty memory.
From Salon ● Apr. 22, 2024
It then retraces its steps home in late afternoon into evening.
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2023
Just as an embryo retraces much of the human evolutionary past, so budding artists reinvent the first stages of art.
From "History of Art, Volume 1" by H.W. Janson
Long-term bond rates declined in the immediate aftermath of the Treasury’s announcement on Wednesday but retraced their move in morning trading.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026
And then he retraced his steps across the 150-foot wide thoroughfare that knifes through the heart of the city along what once was the Red Car line of the Pacific Electric Railway.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 20, 2026
Following Friday’s bounce, stocks are set to open lower while oil prices have retraced some of their losses.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 20, 2026
Yet another future president might have retraced a path toward more balanced economic or security policies once the disadvantages of trade wars or diplomatic and military isolation became obvious.
From Salon ● Mar. 28, 2026
He retraced his steps, almost casually, caught her perfume again about fifty feet away, beside a small mausoleum with a closed metal gateway.
From "The Graveyard Book" by Neil Gaiman
The dollar is currently around 159.30 yen, retracing roughly half its original gains.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026
Core retail sales, which excludes the auto component and gasoline, climbed 0.9%, retracing a 0.7% decline in the category recorded in April.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
Little by little, through her childish chatter retracing her arrival in Denmark and some research done in South Korea, Randel uncovered a different story from the one in her Danish adoption papers.
From Barron's ● Jun. 4, 2026
After his journey retracing his life off-grid, he decided to send his mother a text message.
From BBC ● May 13, 2026
In real life, Weary was retracing his steps, trying to find out what had happened to Billy.
From "Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
