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

Jury sees alleged paper trail of 2011 extortion payment Following Garcia's testimony about accepting a $100,000 payment from Combs, prosecutors called Combs' longtime employee Derek Ferguson to drill down into the financial structure of Combs' business empire. —Aaron Katersky, ABC News, 3 June 2025

Keeping a paper trail can be helpful when trying to resolve these kinds of issues. —Christopher Elliot, Mercury News, 28 May 2025

The layers of paper that conceal the connection to Thompson for consumers doing cursory checks provide a paper trail to Thompson for those who go a little deeper. —David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 18 May 2025

Outside of this, there is no paper trail or evidence of their involvement with the cemetery. —Briah Lumpkins, Charlotte Observer, 8 May 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