retrace
Americanverb (used with object)
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retraces,
present (3rd person singular)
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retraced,
past participle, past
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retracing
present participle
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to trace backward; go back over.
to retrace one's steps.
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to go back over with the memory.
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to go over again with the sight or attention.
verb
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to go back over (one's steps, a route, etc) again
we retraced the route we took last summer
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to go over (a past event) in the mind; recall
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to go over (a story, account, etc) from the beginning
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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retracesimple
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retracessimple
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have retracedperfect
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has retracedperfect
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am retracingprogressive
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are retracingprogressive
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is retracingprogressive
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have been retracingperfect progressive
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has been retracingperfect progressive
Past
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retracedsimple
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had retracedperfect
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was retracingprogressive
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were retracingprogressive
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had been retracingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of retrace
1690–1700; < French retracer, Middle French retracier, equivalent to re- re- + tracier to trace 1
Explanation
To retrace is to walk the same path again, or to follow a path someone else has taken. You could visit the town your ancestors came from and attempt to retrace their steps there. When you lose your glasses, some helpful person may ask you, "Did you retrace your steps?" What they're suggesting is that you walk everywhere you went earlier, checking as you go to see if you left them on a table or desk nearby. A detective will also retrace someone's steps to solve a crime, looking for clues while walking where the suspect walked. Trace means "outline," but also "follow a line or a path."
Vocabulary lists containing retrace
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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.
See Examples For:
“If the current leaders begin to consolidate or retrace, stronger participation from the broader market will likely be necessary to prevent the index from losing momentum.”
From Barron's ● Jun. 1, 2026
Federal investigators used data from a network of license-plate readers and traffic-surveillance cameras collected by local police to retrace her movements in the days before the shooting, court documents show.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 1, 2026
With Ukrainian airspace closed because of the war with Russia, they will then retrace their steps to Poland and fly to London for next week's second leg.
From BBC ● Apr. 30, 2026
But there’s a limit to how many similar instances, all with the same structure, the film can retrace before it gives way to monotony.
From Salon ● Apr. 26, 2026
Indeed, if one were to retrace the Burr-Hamilton route across the Hudson and land just upstream from the modern-day Lincoln Tunnel, one would come face-to-face with a sheer cliff 150 feet high.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
The episode retraces his steps alongside forensic pathologist Richard Shepherd, who carried out Jay's postmortem when his body was returned to the UK.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
“Remake” retraces Adrian’s childhood while filling in the details of the director’s life after “Photographic Memory,” including brain surgery and the dissolution of his 24-year marriage.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 16, 2026
Running until March 8, the exhibit retraces the journeys made by the researcher, who died in 2003.
From Barron's ● Jan. 16, 2026
OTTAWA—Retailers in Canada saw a jump in sales in November that retraces weak trade in recent months, hinting at a recovery in household consumption heading into the important holiday season.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 19, 2025
Just as an embryo retraces much of the human evolutionary past, so budding artists reinvent the first stages of art.
From "History of Art, Volume 1" by H.W. Janson
Oil prices retraced some of Monday’s sharp losses, with the benchmark Brent crude contract rising 1.6% to $106.50 a barrel.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026
To determine when the ability developed and how it changed over time, the team retraced lactoferrin's evolutionary history and reconstructed versions belonging to its extinct ancestors.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 28, 2026
And then he retraced his steps across the 150-foot wide thoroughfare that knifes through the heart of the city along what once was the Red Car line of the Pacific Electric Railway.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 20, 2026
WTI crude prices have retraced a substantial amount of their post-war surge, but current futures prices don’t anticipate a return to pre-war levels until at least the middle of next year.
From Barron's ● Apr. 21, 2026
Anxiously Curly retraced his steps to the owl den and pointed a flashlight down the hole.
From "Hoot" by Carl Hiaasen
Nasdaq futures jumped 1.2%, retracing some of last week’s losses though the index remains down for the month.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026
The dollar is currently around 159.30 yen, retracing roughly half its original gains.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026
"Perhaps the greatest emotion is feeling a bit as if you were up on the scaffolding with Giotto... retracing the creative phases in the making of a masterpiece like this," she said.
From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026
Yields were little changed after retracing early increases triggered by fears inflation could run high for months —and even drive the Fed to hike rates down the road.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026
And then he commenced retracing Reggie’s drive, matching times with texts, which had commenced with the one sent at 6:17.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
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