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:
Still, the rebound in the U.S. 10-year bond yield toward 4.7% means that the market could be more vulnerable to profit-taking if rates continue to retrace higher, it adds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
“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
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
“I was able to retrace at least some of his steps that day.”
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
Directed by filmmaker Alex Thomas, the film retraces Damilola's final day and examines the environment and pressures shaping the lives of young people around him at that time.
From BBC ● Mar. 25, 2026
Documentarian Geeta Gandbhir retraces this slow-moving tragedy through the body camera footage of the exasperated officers who know that the caller, not the children, is the problem.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 10, 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
He retraces his steps, growing more anxious with each turn.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
The oil market did a “good job in making up for the supply cut off” from Iran, which is why prices retraced so sharply, Edward Meir, an analyst at financial-services platform Marex, told MarketWatch.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 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
Following Friday’s bounce, stocks are set to open lower while oil prices have retraced some of their losses.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 20, 2026
He points out that energy stocks have “virtually retraced their wartime gains,” and adds that “even the bond market is back on an even keel after yesterday’s rally.”
From Barron's ● Apr. 15, 2026
With their backpacks on, they retraced their steps to hug their mother.
From "Boy 2.0" by Tracey Baptiste
Treasury yields held close to flat after earlier retracing sharp falls that initially followed the Treasury’s surprise bond market intervention.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
The dollar is currently around 159.30 yen, retracing roughly half its original gains.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026
After his journey retracing his life off-grid, he decided to send his mother a text message.
From BBC ● May 13, 2026
Two films at this year's Berlin Film Festival follow members of the African diaspora telling stories by retracing the paths of their ancestors.
From Barron's ● Feb. 16, 2026
You say bye, retracing your steps to the parking lot.
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.
