paper trail
noun
: documents (such as financial records) from which a person's actions may be traced or opinions learned
Examples of paper trail in a Sentence
They covered up the fraud and were careful not to leave a paper trail.
Recent Examples on the Web
The paper trail between you and Turo shows that the company was unconvinced.
—
Christopher Elliott, Mercury News, 13 Aug. 2025
Most Presidential libraries would come to house both the paper trail of a Presidency, for researchers to consult, and also a commemorative museum, which is the bit that most tourists actually visit.
—Jon Allsop, New Yorker, 1 Aug. 2025
And the search had gotten a boost from the 1998 discovery of a 200-year-old paper trail linking the troop transport Lord Sandwich to its former life as HMS Endeavour.
—ArsTechnica, 24 June 2025
Goo followed the paper trail starting from when King Kamehameha III gifted the original 990 acres to her royal ancestors, the Kahanus, up to when her father's generation is forced to navigate the modern legal system.
—Kathleen Wong, USA Today, 18 July 2025
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Christopher Elliott, Mercury News, 13 Aug. 2025
Most Presidential libraries would come to house both the paper trail of a Presidency, for researchers to consult, and also a commemorative museum, which is the bit that most tourists actually visit.
—Jon Allsop, New Yorker, 1 Aug. 2025
And the search had gotten a boost from the 1998 discovery of a 200-year-old paper trail linking the troop transport Lord Sandwich to its former life as HMS Endeavour.
—ArsTechnica, 24 June 2025
Goo followed the paper trail starting from when King Kamehameha III gifted the original 990 acres to her royal ancestors, the Kahanus, up to when her father's generation is forced to navigate the modern legal system.
—Kathleen Wong, USA Today, 18 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for paper trail
Cite this Entry
“Paper trail.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/paper%20trail. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.
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