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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.

In other words, there should be a paper trail if/when you are audited.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 26, 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

With no paper trail from a hospital birth, none of the trio will ever be able to trace their mother.

From Barron's • Jan. 14, 2026

"We needed to create a paper trail so he could find his way back to us," Johanne says.

From BBC • Nov. 21, 2025

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.