Definition of spoor
spoor
orspoors
1 : a track, a trail, a scent, or droppings especially of a wild animal
2 : a trace by which the progress of someone or something may be followed
From the M-W Editors
Recent Examples of spoor from the Web
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On top goes chaat masala, a collage of spices haunted by the smoky spoor of black salt; amchur, tart green mango powder; and asafetida, with its faint evocation of meat.
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The previous method used spoor (paw prints, also called pugmarks, and scat), which often led to the same animal being counted multiple times.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'spoor.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of spoor
Afrikaans, from Dutch; akin to Old English spor footprint, spoor, spurnan to kick — more at spurn
spoor
Definition of spoor
transitive verb
: to track by a spoor
intransitive verb
: to track something by its spoor
First Known Use of spoor
1850
Learn More about spoor
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See words that rhyme with spoor Spanish Central: Translation of spoor Nglish: Translation of spoor for Spanish speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about spoor
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