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trace

noun

Synonyms and Antonyms of trace

1 a mark or series of marks left on a surface by something that has passed along it
  • the wolf came and went without leaving a trace on the hard, dry ground
Synonyms of trace

imprint, track, trail
Words Related to trace

footmark, footprint, footstep, hoofprint, path, print, pug, rut, step, tread

artifact, evidence, leavings, relic, remain(s), remainder, reminder, remnant, residual, residue, sign, spoor, telltale, token, vestige

clue, cue, hint, indication, inkling, intimation, lead, suggestion

scent, shadow, whiff
2 a passage cleared for public vehicular travel
  • an old trace that dates back to the days of the covered wagon
Synonyms of trace

arterial, artery, avenue, boulevard, carriageway [British], drag, drive, expressway, freeway, high road, highway, pass, pike, road, roadway, route, row, street, thoroughfare, thruway, turnpike, way
Words Related to trace

causeway

autobahn, autoroute, autostrada, dual carriageway [chiefly British], interstate, motorway [chiefly British], superhighway

beltway, bypass, parkway, ring road [chiefly British]

corniche, switchback

through street

high street [British], Main Street

backstreet, branch, bystreet, byway, crossroad, secondary road, shunpike, side road, side street

alley, alleyway

circle, lane, laneway [British], mews [chiefly British], place

close [chiefly British], cul-de-sac, dead end

corridor

track, trail
3 a rough course or way formed by or as if by repeated footsteps
  • stay on the trace, or youʼll get lost in these thick woods
Synonyms of trace

footpath, path, pathway, track, trail
Words Related to trace

bridle path

towpath

alley, alleyway, bypath, byroad, bystreet, byway, passageway, walkway

cutoff, shortcut

lane, pass, passage, road, roadway, route, row, run, runway, street, thoroughfare
4 a tiny often physical indication of something lost or vanished
  • a ship that appears to have vanished without a trace on the high seas
Synonyms of trace

echo, ghost, relic, shadow, vestige
Words Related to trace

memento, remembrance, reminder

artifact

afterimage, aftertaste

balance, corpse, hangover, leftover, oddment, remainder, remnant, scrap

dreg(s), leavings, remain(s), residual, residue, rest
5 a very small amount
  • doctors detected only a trace of bacteria in the blood sample but put the patient on antibiotics just in case
Synonyms of trace

ace, bit, crumb, dab, dram, driblet, glimmer, hint, lick, little, mite, nip, ounce, particle, peanuts, ray, scintilla, scruple, shade, shadow, shred, skosh, smack, smell, smidgen (also smidgeon), snap, soupçon, spark, spatter, speck, splash, spot, sprinkling, strain, streak, suspicion, tad, touch
Words Related to trace

hoot, iota, jot, minim, minimum, modicum, semblance, syllable, tittle, vestige, whit

atom, dot, fleck, flyspeck, grain, granule, molecule, morsel, mote, nubbin, patch, scrap

dash, drop, pinch

part, portion, section

bite, nibble, taste

handful, scattering, smatter, smattering

dose, shot

chip, flake, fragment, shard, shiver, sliver, smithereens, splinter

shred, tatter

clipping, paring, shaving
Phrases Synonymous with trace

drop in the bucket
Near Antonyms of trace

abundance, barrel, boatload, bucket, bundle, bushel, deal, fistful, gobs, heaps, lashings (also lashins) [chiefly British], loads, lot, mass, mess, mountain, much, oodles, passel, peck, pile, plenty, potful, profusion, quantity, raft, reams, scads, stack, wad, wealth

volume

bonanza, embarrassment, excess, overabundance, overage, overflow, overkill, overmuch, oversupply, superabundance, superfluity, surfeit, surplus

chunk, hunk, lump, slab
6 an almost imperceptible sign of something
  • there didn't seem to be so much as a trace of the truth to anything he said
Synonyms of trace

breath, flicker, glimmer, hint, suggestion, tang, touch, whiff
Words Related to trace

inkling, intimation, scent, wind

evidence, indication, mark, sign
Near Antonyms of trace

permeation, pervasion, saturation
7 the mark or impression made by a foot
  • followed the traces of the deer into the deep woods
Synonyms of trace

footmark, footprint, footstep, step, vestige
Words Related to trace

hoofprint

pug, spoor, track

tread

Synonym Discussion of trace

trace, vestige, track mean a perceptible sign made by something that has passed. trace may suggest any line, mark, or discernible effect.
    • the killer left no traces
vestige applies to a tangible reminder such as a fragment or remnant of what is past and gone.
    • boulders that are vestiges of the last ice age
track implies a continuous line that can be followed.
    • the fossilized tracks of dinosaurs

trace

verb

Synonyms and Antonyms of trace

1 to draw or make apparent the outline of
  • trace your hand onto this piece of paper
Synonyms of trace

define, delineate, outline, silhouette, sketch
Words Related to trace

line

bound, fringe, margin, skirt

edge, hem, rim, trim

frame

circle, compass, encircle, girdle, girth, loop, ring, round, surround

chart, diagram, draw, map (out)
2 to go after or on the track of
  • police traced the burglar back to his apartment, where they discovered a ton of stolen loot
Synonyms of trace

bird-dog, chase, course, dog, follow, hound, pursue, run, shadow, tag, tail, track, trail
Words Related to trace

accompany, chaperone (or chaperon), escort

hunt, search (for), seek

eye, observe, watch
Phrases Synonymous with trace

run after
Near Antonyms of trace

head
Antonyms of trace

guide, lead, pilot

Learn More about trace

  1. See words that rhyme with trace Dictionary: Definition of trace Medical Dictionary: Definition of trace Spanish Central: Translation of trace Nglish: Translation of trace for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of trace for Arabic speakers

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