retrace

American  

[ri-trays] / rɪˈtreɪs /

verb (used with object)

• retraces,
  present (3rd person singular)
• retraced,
  past participle,  past
• retracing
  present participle

1. to trace backward; go back over.

   to retrace one's steps.

2. to go back over with the memory.

3. to go over again with the sight or attention.

4. re-trace.

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retrace British  

/ rɪˈtreɪs /

verb

1. to go back over (one's steps, a route, etc) again

   we retraced the route we took last summer

2. to go over (a past event) in the mind; recall

3. to go over (a story, account, etc) from the beginning

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• retracement
  noun
• nonretraceable
  adjective
• retraceable
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• retracing
  present
• retraced
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• retrace
  simple
• retraces
  simple
• have retraced
  perfect
• has retraced
  perfect
• am retracing
  progressive
• are retracing
  progressive
• is retracing
  progressive
• have been retracing
  perfect progressive
• has been retracing
  perfect progressive

Past

• retraced
  simple
• had retraced
  perfect
• was retracing
  progressive
• were retracing
  progressive
• had been retracing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will retrace
  simple
• will have retraced
  perfect
• will be retracing
  progressive
• will have been retracing
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of retrace

1690–1700; < French retracer, Middle French retracier, equivalent to re- re- + tracier to trace ¹

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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."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

retrace retraces retraced retracing

In other words, it’s reasonable to feel relief once crude oil prices retrace their journey back to where they were before the Iran war began.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 7, 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

“Let me see. I was really not conscious of thinking of anything; but perhaps I can retrace my thoughts.”

From "The Awakening" by Kate Chopin

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

Prime Video’s “Desperately Seeking Soulmate: Escaping Twin Flames,” in contrast, retraces the reporting of Vanity Fair’s Alice Hines, who serves as its main protagonist and narrator.

From Salon ● Nov. 11, 2023

He pivots, retraces their steps, climbs an alley, then turns around.

From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr

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

Nasdaq-listed PDD hit a 2026 low in June but has since retraced some of those declines.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026

Long-term bond rates declined in the immediate aftermath of the Treasury’s announcement on Wednesday but retraced their move in morning trading.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 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

The group retraced Rondon’s steps, and they soon found a trail of blood that led them to Lobo, who had tried to follow Rondon back to camp.

From "Death on the River of Doubt" by Samantha Seiple

Debbie said retracing her son's steps helped her, because "we could look at the terrain in more detail".

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026

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

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

“I daresay very few people could have done what you did the second time through, retracing your steps so exactly. You made over a hundred turns!”

From "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart

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