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

The company’s New Jersey connection is a vestige of its past, when Exxon was part of the conglomerate Standard Oil back in the 19th century.

From Barron's ● May 27, 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

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

From BBC ● Feb. 19, 2026

Advocates for Proposition 6 see forced labor in prisons as a vestige of slavery, and used the word in their campaign messages.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 17, 2024

To frighten her, I smashed a porcelain jar that, I believe, was the last vestige of the splendid days of my great-grandfather, but she was unmoved.

From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende

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 is also unclear what Netflix would want with Warner’s shrinking cable TV channels and other vestiges of legacy media.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 19, 2025

Particularly as this dramatic move, removing the remaining vestiges of his royal life, comes with an assertion of his innocence and that he continued to "vigorously deny the accusations against me".

From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2025

Beneath the Cloak he could feel the last vestiges of Polyjuice leaving him, his hands returning to their usual length and shape.

From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling

Related Words

• glimmer
• relic
• remnant
• residue