paper trail
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of paper trail
First recorded in 1975–80
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.
Not only does the practice create a paper trail, it carries steep penalties.
From Salon ● Oct. 19, 2026
And, if a project succeeds, you’ve left a paper trail that shows you were instrumental in its execution.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026
She becomes the de facto “keeper” of these letters and more mementos — a “strange gift,” she writes, the paper trail of something that should never have happened.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2026
Money, that eternal source of marital friction, offers a paper trail for the unraveling of countless marriages.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 19, 2026
A paper trail to a Chickasaw great-grandfather none of them had ever known was a path into a past she’d spent her whole life escaping.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
