trace

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>.

Rhymes with TRACE

ace, base, bass, brace, case, chase, dace, face, grace, lace, mace, Mace, Naas, pace, place, plaice, prase, race, res, space, Thrace, vase, Wace