vestige

American  

[ves-tij] / ˈvɛs tɪdʒ /

noun

• vestiges
  plural

1. a mark, trace, or visible evidence of something that is no longer present or in existence.

   A few columns were the last vestiges of a Greek temple.

   Synonyms:

   token

2. a surviving evidence or remainder of some condition, practice, etc..

   These superstitions are vestiges of an ancient religion.

3. a very slight trace or amount of something.

   Not a vestige remains of the former elegance of the house.

   Synonyms:

   suggestion, hint

4. Biology. a degenerate or imperfectly developed organ or structure that has little or no utility, but that in an earlier stage of the individual or in preceding evolutionary forms of the organism performed a useful function.

5. Archaic. a footprint; track.

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vestige British  

/ ˈvɛstɪdʒ /

noun

1. a small trace, mark, or amount; hint

   a vestige of truth

   no vestige of the meal

2. biology an organ or part of an organism that is a small nonfunctioning remnant of a functional organ in an ancestor

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Synonym Usage

See trace ¹.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• vestiges
  plural

Etymology

Origin of vestige

First recorded in 1535–45; from Middle French, from Latin vestīgium “footprint”

Explanation

A vestige is a trace or reminder of something that has disappeared or is disappearing. A lump of snow with a carrot in it might be the vestige of a snowman. Vestige derives from the Latin vestigium, "footprint," and that is a good way to think of it — as a little hint of what was there before. It's something left behind, like a puddle after a heavy rainstorm. Sometimes vestige is used to emphasize a small amount; for example, you might say that the robber didn't show even a vestige of remorse after he was caught.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

vestige vestiges

Hainu, a vestige of the Japanese colonial era, shares some similarities with the centuries-old matriarchal tradition of haenyeo free-diving in South Korea, although Taiwan's sea women do not go underwater.

From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026

Reason magazine calls it the “lost remnants of a pre-vibe-shift culture, the last vestige of a fully woke world.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 22, 2026

Warner has $33.5 billion in debt — another vestige of the 2022 merger, which led to thousands of job losses and dumped programming.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 26, 2026

They were tough sanctions, removing any vestige of royal status.

From BBC ● Feb. 19, 2026

He let go of every former vestige in his life, except football.

From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger

In northeastern Annaba -- formerly the ancient Roman city of Hippo -- Leo will visit vestiges of the city's historical past, as well as a reception centre run by Catholic nuns for impoverished elderly people.

From Barron's ● Apr. 14, 2026

But most critically, venture capital has eaten away at the remaining vestiges of old-school journalism.

From Salon ● Mar. 7, 2026

“It effectively killed the last vestiges of ’80s glam rock, all that hair, metal and theatrics,” says Fink.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 1, 2026

We know from experience why the country had DEI programs, because we remember Jim Crow and its vestiges in segregated schools and neighborhoods.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 8, 2025

But even though he wasn’t brought up in Hungary, Liszt held on to some vestiges of Hungarian patriotism beneath his pan-European facade.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall

Related Words

• glimmer
• relic
• remnant
• residue