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 imprint, track, trailRelated Words 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 arterial, artery, avenue, boulevard, carriageway [British], drag, drive, expressway, freeway, high road, highway, pass, pike, road, roadway, route, row, street, thoroughfare, thruway, way, turnpikeRelated Words 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 you'll get lost in these thick woods Synonyms footpath, path, pathway, trail, trackRelated Words 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 echo, ghost, relic, shadow, vestigeRelated Words 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 ace, bit, crumb, dab, dram, driblet, glimmer, hint, lick, little, mite, nip, ounce, peanuts, ray, scintilla, scruple, shade, shadow, shred, skosh, smack, smell, smidgen (also smidgeon or smidgin or smidge), snap, soupçon, spark, spatter, speck, splash, spot, sprinkling, strain, streak, suspicion, tad, touch, particleRelated Words 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, shavingNear Antonyms 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 breath, flicker, glimmer, suggestion, tang, touch, hint, whiffRelated Words inkling, intimation, scent, wind; evidence, indication, mark, signNear Antonyms permeation, pervasion, saturation

7 the mark or impression made by a foot followed the traces of the deer into the deep woods Synonyms footmark, footstep, step, footprint, vestigeRelated Words hoofprint; pug, spoor, track; tread

1 to draw or make apparent the outline of trace your hand onto this piece of paper Synonyms define, delineate, silhouette, sketch, outlineRelated Words 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 bird-dog, chase, course, dog, hound, pursue, run, shadow, tag, tail, follow, track, trailRelated Words accompany, chaperone (or chaperon), escort; hunt, search (for), seek; eye, observe, watchNear Antonyms headAntonyms guide, lead, pilot