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.
As long as you have the paper trail in the event you are audited, you will be fine.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 2, 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
For one, he doesn’t have the provocative paper trail that Dhillon has.
From Salon ● Apr. 12, 2026
It sounded like Jesse didn’t have much of a paper trail to bring to the admissions committee, however.
From "Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho" by Jon Katz
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.
