tracing

American  

[trey-sing] / ˈtreɪ sɪŋ /

noun

1. the act of a person or thing that traces.

2. something that is produced by tracing.

3. a copy of a drawing, map, plan, etc., made by tracing on a transparent sheet placed over the original.

4. the record made by a self-registering instrument.

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tracing British  

/ ˈtreɪsɪŋ /

noun

1. a copy made by tracing

2. the act of making a trace

3. a record made by an instrument

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Etymology

Origin of tracing

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at trace ¹, -ing ¹

Example Sentences

Tracing the origins of octopuses has long been difficult because their soft bodies rarely fossilize.

From Science Daily • Apr. 25, 2026

Tracing anything to the federal government’s rules on mifepristone seemed all but impossible.

From Slate • Apr. 13, 2026

Tracing the lives of three “daughters of China”—the author, her mother and her grandmother—the book illuminated 20th-century Chinese history in a way that was at once thrilling and alarming.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 14, 2026

Tracing back to the city’s first skyscraper, the Braly Block completed in 1904, the exhibition reveals how L.A. has grown, been demolished and rebuilt again over decades.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 1, 2025

Tracing with her finger the white and pink-tinged clouds against pale skies of gray or green, Kira wished again for blue.

From "Gathering Blue" by Lois Lowry

Related Words

• architecture
• arrangement
• composition
• construction
• drawing
• form
• idea
• layout
• map
• method
• model
• pattern
• picture
• plan
• scheme
• study