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trace

18 ENTRIES FOUND:

1trace

noun \ˈtrās\

Definition of TRACE

1
archaic : a course or path that one follows
2
a : a mark or line left by something that has passed; also : footprint b : a path, trail, or road made by the passage of animals, people, or vehicles
3
a : a sign or evidence of some past thing : vestige b : engram
4
: something (as a line) traced or drawn: as a : the marking made by a recording instrument (as a seismograph or kymograph) b : the ground plan of a military installation or position either on a map or on the ground
5
a : the intersection of a line or plane with a plane b : the usually bright line or spot that moves across the screen of a cathode-ray tube; also : the path taken by such a line or spot
6
a : a minute and often barely detectable amount or indication <a trace of a smile> b : an amount of a chemical constituent not always quantitatively determinable because of minuteness
trace·less \-ləs\ adjective

Origin of TRACE

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from tracer to trace
First Known Use: 14th century

Synonym Discussion of TRACE

trace, vestige, track mean a perceptible sign made by something that has passed. trace may suggest any line, mark, or discernible effect <a snowfield pockmarked with the traces of caribou>. vestige applies to a tangible reminder such as a fragment or remnant of what is past and gone <boulders that are vestiges of the last ice age>. track implies a continuous line that can be followed <the fossilized tracks of dinosaurs>.

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