trace

¹ American  

[treys] / treɪs /

noun

1. a surviving mark, sign, or evidence of the former existence, influence, or action of some agent or event; vestige.

   traces of an advanced civilization among the ruins.

2. a barely discernible indication or evidence of some quantity, quality, characteristic, expression, etc..

   a trace of anger in his tone.

   Synonyms:

   touch, taste, suggestion, hint

3. an extremely small amount of some chemical component.

   a trace of copper in its composition.

   Antonyms:

   plethora, excess, abundance

4. traces, the series of footprints left by an animal.

5. the track left by the passage of a person, animal, or object.

   the trace of her skates on the ice.

   Synonyms:

   record, spoor, trail

6. Meteorology. precipitation of less than 0.005 inch (0.127 millimeter).

7. a trail or path, especially through wild or open territory, made by the passage of people, animals, or vehicles.

8. engram.

9. a tracing, drawing, or sketch of something.

10. a lightly drawn line, as the record drawn by a self-registering instrument.

11. Mathematics.

    1. the intersection of two planes, or of a plane and a surface.

    2. the sum of the elements along the principal diagonal of a square matrix.

    3. the geometric locus of an equation.

12. the visible line or lines produced on the screen of a cathode-ray tube by the deflection of the electron beam.

13. Linguistics. (in generative grammar) a construct that is phonologically empty but serves to mark the place in the surface structure of a sentence from which a noun phrase has been moved by a transformational operation.

14. Obsolete. a footprint.

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verb (used with object)

• traces,
  present (3rd person singular)
• traced,
  past participle,  past
• tracing
  present participle

1. to follow the footprints, track, or traces of.

   Synonyms:

   trail, track

2. to follow, make out, or determine the course or line of, especially by going backward from the latest evidence, nearest existence, etc..

   to trace one's ancestry to the Pilgrims.

3. to follow (footprints, evidence, the history or course of something, etc.).

4. to follow the course, development, or history of.

   to trace a political movement.

5. to ascertain by investigation; find out; discover.

   The police were unable to trace his whereabouts.

6. to draw (a line, outline, figure, etc.).

7. to make a plan, diagram, or map of.

8. to copy (a drawing, plan, etc.) by following the lines of the original on a superimposed transparent sheet.

9. to mark or ornament with lines, figures, etc.

10. to make an impression or imprinting of (a design, pattern, etc.).

11. (of a self-registering instrument) to print in a curved, broken, or wavy-lined manner.

12. to put down in writing.

verb (used without object)

• traces,
  present (3rd person singular)
• traced,
  past participle,  past
• tracing
  present participle

1. to go back in history, ancestry, or origin; date back in time.

   Her family traces back to Paul Revere.

2. to follow a course, trail, etc.; make one's way.

3. (of a self-registering instrument) to print a record in a curved, broken, or wavy-lined manner.

trace ² American  

[treys] / treɪs /

noun

1. either of the two straps, ropes, or chains by which a carriage, wagon, or the like is drawn by a harnessed horse or other draft animal.

2. a piece in a machine, as a bar, transferring the movement of one part to another part, being hinged to each.

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idioms

1. kick over the traces, to throw off restraint; become independent or defiant.

   He kicked over the traces and ran off to join the navy.

trace ¹ British  

/ treɪs /

noun

1. a mark or other sign that something has been in a place; vestige

2. a tiny or scarcely detectable amount or characteristic

3. a footprint or other indication of the passage of an animal or person

4. any line drawn by a recording instrument or a record consisting of a number of such lines

5. something drawn, such as a tracing

6. a beaten track or path

7. the postulated alteration in the cells of the nervous system that occurs as the result of any experience or learning See also memory trace engram

8. geometry the intersection of a surface with a coordinate plane

9. maths the sum of the diagonal entries of a square matrix

10. linguistics a symbol inserted in the constituent structure of a sentence to mark the position from which a constituent has been moved in a generative process

11. meteorol an amount of precipitation that is too small to be measured

12. archaic a way taken; route

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verb

1. (tr) to follow, discover, or ascertain the course or development of (something)

   to trace the history of China

2. (tr) to track down and find, as by following a trail

3. to copy (a design, map, etc) by drawing over the lines visible through a superimposed sheet of transparent paper or other material

4. 1. to draw or delineate a plan or diagram of

      she spent hours tracing the models one at a time

   2. to outline or sketch (an idea, policy, etc)

      he traced out his scheme for the robbery

5. (tr) to decorate with tracery

6. (tr) to imprint (a design) on cloth, etc

7. (usually foll by back) to follow or be followed to source; date back

   his ancestors trace back to the 16th century

8. archaic to make one's way over, through, or along (something)

trace ² British  

/ treɪs /

noun

1. either of the two side straps that connect a horse's harness to the swingletree

2. angling a length of nylon or, formerly, gut attaching a hook or fly to a line

3. to escape or defy control

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Synonym Usage

Trace, vestige agree in denoting marks or signs of something, usually of the past. Trace , the broader term, denotes any mark or slight indication of something past or present: a trace of ammonia in water. Vestige is more limited and refers to some slight, though actual, remains of something that no longer exists: vestiges of one's former wealth.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• traceability
  noun
• traceable
  adjective
• traceless
  adjective
• untraced
  adjective
• traceably
  adverb
• tracelessly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• tracing
  present
• traced
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• trace
  simple
• traces
  simple
• have traced
  perfect
• has traced
  perfect
• am tracing
  progressive
• are tracing
  progressive
• is tracing
  progressive
• have been tracing
  perfect progressive
• has been tracing
  perfect progressive

Past

• traced
  simple
• had traced
  perfect
• was tracing
  progressive
• were tracing
  progressive
• had been tracing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will trace
  simple
• will have traced
  perfect
• will be tracing
  progressive
• will have been tracing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of trace¹

First recorded in 1400–50; Middle English verb trace(n), trase(n) “to make one's way, proceed, move along a set course,” from Old French tra(i)cier, traser, from unattested Vulgar Latin tractiāre, derivative of Latin tractus, past participle of trahere “to draw, drag”; Middle English noun trace tras(e) “way, course, line of footprints, track, trail,” from Old French, derivative of tracier

Origin of trace²

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English trais(e), traice, from Old French trais, tres, plural of trait “harness strap, action of drawing,” from Latin tractus “a drawing, dragging”; see origin at tract ¹

Explanation

A trace of something is just a hint or suggestion of it, a very small amount left behind — like the sad cookie crumbs at the bottom of an empty cookie jar. There are more meanings we can trace to this word trace. As a verb, trace means to follow the course or trail of something, sometimes even chasing or hunting it. It also means to draw or sketch over a picture on translucent "tracing paper." So you could say that Sherlock Holmes traced criminals throughout London, following even the smallest traces of evidence and tracing copies of the villain's notes for his files.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

trace traces traced tracing

The private island, Indian Creek, represents one of South Florida’s major battlefields where the region’s newly minted billionaires are clashing with those of more modest affluence who trace their Miami roots back generations.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026

Because immune cells divide continuously, the scientists needed to trace their cellular family trees.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 14, 2026

To identify the source of the outbreak, FDA officials conducted a traceback investigation — a process in which officials trace food that made people ill all the way back to the farm or production facility.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

To trace the breadcrumbs of this tragedy, readers need critical context.

From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026

I avert my eyes, open my hand, and trace the pattern on the inside of my palm—two stylized hearts, one atop the other, locked in an eternal headbutting competition.

From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer

It’s well-known that all of the stock market’s net gain traces to a very small number of days.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026

My perverse love for lip stuff traces back to when I was 4 and first tried on my grandmother’s Clinique lipstick in Raspberry Glace.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

The chief vet of Kenya's Wildlife Service, Dr Isaac Lekolool, told us that they had found traces of cyanide in samples taken from the elephants' stomachs.

From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026

These traces point to the wide range of environments, objects and people that may have come into contact with the Shroud during its long history.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 4, 2026

About eight weeks later, I heard a sound that erased all traces of resentment: a swishing, watery heartbeat picked up on ultrasound, emanating from the warm cave of my body.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

However, nearly all of that pattern can be traced to one particular group: the aculeate Hymenoptera, which includes stinging wasps, bees and ants.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 15, 2026

In adult brains, the researchers detected changes in myelination that could be traced to thicker myelin sheaths, particularly around thin axons.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 14, 2026

On Aug. 4, the Food and Drug Administration revealed that a salmonella outbreak traced back to contaminated jalapeños imported from Mexico had left hundreds of Americans sick.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

Wallace fled the scene in a vehicle and was arrested on 25 September after police traced the car to south-east London.

From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026

“That’s Phil O’Dell for ya,” I mumbled to myself as I traced Jemma’s words on the page.

From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan

"These incidents have disrupted surveillance, case investigation, contact tracing, treatment and community engagements showing how attacks can undermine not only health services, but also the capacity to detect and contain outbreaks," said Musani.

From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026

Reaching it required tracing a river for 20 kilometers, followed by two days of steep uphill hiking.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 4, 2026

After a few blocks on Reseda, Papas turned back into the neighborhood centered around Etiwanda and started tracing loops across the blocks.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026

He said the cyber cell was tracing those sharing inflammatory videos and continuously monitoring social media for more such content.

From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026

Frankie placed his hand on my cheek, tracing the curve of my cheekbone.

From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros

Related Words

• element
• footprint
• fragment
• hint
• indication
• particle
• proof
• relic
• remains
• remnant
• shred
• smell
• speck
• strain
• taste
• tinge
• touch
• vestige
• whiff