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trace - Meaning and Examples

Meaning of 'trace' (Webster Dictionary)

1 . Trace [ n.]
- One of two straps, chains, or ropes of a harness, extending from the collar or breastplate to a whiffletree attached to a vehicle or thing to be drawn; a tug.
2 . Trace [ v. i.]
- To walk; to go; to travel.
3 . Trace [ v. t.]
- A mark left by anything passing; a track; a path; a course; a footprint; a vestige; as, the trace of a carriage or sled; the trace of a deer; a sinuous trace.
- A very small quantity of an element or compound in a given substance, especially when so small that the amount is not quantitatively determined in an analysis; -- hence, in stating an analysis, often contracted to tr.
- A mark, impression, or visible appearance of anything left when the thing itself no longer exists; remains; token; vestige.
- The intersection of a plane of projection, or an original plane, with a coordinate plane.
- The ground plan of a work or works.
- To mark out; to draw or delineate with marks; especially, to copy, as a drawing or engraving, by following the lines and marking them on a sheet superimposed, through which they appear; as, to trace a figure or an outline; a traced drawing.
- To follow by some mark that has been left by a person or thing which has preceded; to follow by footsteps, tracks, or tokens.
- Hence, to follow the trace or track of.
- To copy; to imitate.
- To walk over; to pass through; to traverse.

Meaning of 'trace' (Princeton's WordNet)

1 . trace [ n]
Meaning (1):
- a just detectable amount
Example in sentence:
  • a hint mockery in her manner;
  • a tint of glamour;
  • he speaks French with a trace of an accent
Meaning (2):
- an indication that something has been present
Example in sentence:
  • a tincture of condescension;
  • there wasn't a trace of evidence for the claim
Meaning (3):
- a suggestion of some quality
Example in sentence:
  • he detected a ghost of a smile on her face;
  • there was a touch of sarcasm in his tone
4 . trace [ v]
Meaning (4):
- read with difficulty
Example in sentence:
  • Can you decipher this letter?;
  • The archeologist traced the hieroglyphs
Meaning (5):
- make a mark or lines on a surface
Example in sentence:
  • draw a line;
  • trace the outline of a figure in the sand
Meaning (6):
- discover traces of
Example in sentence:
  • She traced the circumstances of her birth
Meaning (7):
- make one's course or travel along a path; travel or pass over, around, or along
Example in sentence:
  • The children traced along the edge of the dark forest;
  • The women traced the pasture
Meaning (8):
- pursue or chase relentlessly
Example in sentence:
  • the detectives hounded the suspect until they found him;
  • The hunters traced the deer into the woods
Meaning (9):
- copy by following the lines of the original drawing on a transparent sheet placed upon it; make a tracing of
Example in sentence:
  • trace a design;
  • trace a pattern
Meaning (10):
- follow, discover, or ascertain the course of development of something
Example in sentence:
  • trace one's ancestry;
  • trace the student's progress;
  • We must follow closely the economic development is Cuba
Meaning (11):
- to go back over again
Example in sentence:
  • trace your path;
  • we retraced the route we took last summer

Nearby Words:

trabea trabeae trabeated trabeation trabecula trabeculae trabecular trabeculate trabu traceable

See 'trace' also in:

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