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

Essentially, your job is to compile a paper trail that proves your chain of heritage going back to your grandparent is intact. —Katie Jackson, Travel + Leisure, 11 Nov. 2025

When customers make transfers that deviate from their normal patterns, the AI can reach out to confirm the source and maintain the paper trail regulators require. —Beatrice Nolan, Fortune, 5 Nov. 2025

Pederson was the only one reviewing and approving statements and the reports were saved to a PDF and then recycled, leaving no paper trail, according to the complaint. —Karen Madden, USA Today, 25 Sep. 2025

Organizations react better when there’s a visible paper trail. —Kristine Gill, Better Homes & Gardens, 23 Sep. 2025

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