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.
"We needed to create a paper trail so he could find his way back to us," Johanne says.
From BBC
There will be a paper trail, either email or snail mail.
From MarketWatch
That way, if the item “ends up being stolen and the cops show up at your door, you have a paper trail showing you did your due diligence and are not liable,” Ross said.
From MarketWatch
He will seek and then pour over the paper trail, talk to Angela Rayner and attempt to establish a definitive timeline of what she did and when and who she spoke to and why.
From BBC
Second, an estimated 98% of American voters already cast ballots that leave a paper trail because that’s one way voting machines record votes.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
