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

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Etymology

Origin of vestige

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

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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

Now, nearly two years after the most recent discharge was announced, borrowers say they can’t escape the last vestige of this debt: It still appears on their credit reports.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 24, 2026

When I arrived in the parking lot on an August Saturday afternoon, I immediately saw a pink Cadillac, a vestige of the Cupid’s Outlet.

From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2026

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

An Osage leader said that Hale “should have been hanged for his crimes,” and members of the tribe were convinced that the board’s decision was the last vestige of Hale’s political influence.

From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann

Around the office were vestiges of times gone by.

From Slate ● Sep. 18, 2026

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

There were wild blackberries and raspberries blanketing the hillsides, and vestiges of old fruit orchards.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 17, 2025

Gassendi saw no need to make an explicit distinction between the evidence of vestiges and the evidence of witnesses, but he certainly did not think that the scar ‘testifies’ to the wound.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

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Related Words

• glimmer
• relic
• remnant
• residue

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