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sink without trace

idiom

Definition of sink without trace

British
: to sink beneath the water to a place that cannot be seen or found
  • The boat sank without trace.
—often used figuratively
  • Her first album was a big success, but after that she sank without trace.

Word by Word Definitions

sink play

  1. : to go to the bottom : submerge

  2. : to become partly buried (as in mud)

  3. : to become engulfed

  1. : a pool or pit for the deposit of waste or sewage : cesspool

  2. : a ditch or tunnel for carrying off sewage : sewer

  3. : a stationary basin connected with a drain and usually a water supply for washing and drainage

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trace play

  1. : a minute and often barely detectable amount or indication

  2. : an amount of a chemical constituent not always quantitatively determinable because of minuteness

  3. : a mark or line left by something that has passed

  1. : delineate, sketch

  2. : to form (letters, figures, etc.) carefully or painstakingly

  3. : to copy (something, such as a drawing) by following the lines or letters as seen through a transparent superimposed sheet

  1. : either of two straps, chains, or lines of a harness for attaching a draft animal to something (such as a vehicle) to be drawn

  2. : leader

  3. : one or more vascular bundles supplying a leaf or twig

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