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Showing results for paper trail. Search instead for paper+trail.
Synonyms

paper trail

American  

noun

  1. a written or printed record, as of transactions or judicial opinions, especially when used to incriminate someone.

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.

For one, he doesn’t have the provocative paper trail that Dhillon has.

From Salon • Apr. 12, 2026

Police have also appealed to anyone who bought or shared the images to delete them immediately, warning that "there will be a digital paper trail".

From BBC • Apr. 10, 2026

As your story illustrates, the paper trail should be followed meticulously, particularly if there are notable gaps in the paper trail itself.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 2, 2026

There is, of course, a rich paper trail, and the author made avid use of the Sanders mayoral archives at the University of Vermont.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 29, 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

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.