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

Your loan processor must track the paper trail of any large deposits, say more than a paycheck. —Jeff Lazerson, Oc Register, 23 Apr. 2026

Gouzer said the idea grew out of conversations with sellers who want to avoid the paper trail that comes with traditional auctions, where prices and failures tend to circulate. —Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 22 Apr. 2026

And people like Hunter still find community in following paper trails and architectural clues to identify the residences the company originally sold. —Domenica Bongiovanni, USA Today, 15 Apr. 2026

Your detailed paper trail, photos and polite escalation to a company executive should all work in your favor. —Christopher Elliott, Mercury News, 13 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1935, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for paper trail

• abigail
• cottontail
• countervail
• fingernail
• martingale
• mesoscale
• microscale
• monorail
• nanoscale
• ponytail
• swallowtail
• wensleydale

Kids Definition

paper trail

noun

: documents (as financial records or published materials) from which a person's actions may be traced or opinions learned