TRACE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does trace mean? 

• TRACE (noun)
  The noun TRACE has 6 senses:

1. a just detectable amount

2. an indication that something has been present

3. a suggestion of some quality

4. a drawing created by superimposing a semitransparent sheet of paper on the original image and copying on it the lines of the original image

5. either of two lines that connect a horse's harness to a wagon or other vehicle or to a whiffletree

6. a visible mark (as a footprint) left by the passage of person or animal or vehicle

  Familiarity information: TRACE used as a noun is common.

• TRACE (verb)
  The verb TRACE has 8 senses:

1. follow, discover, or ascertain the course of development of something

2. make a mark or lines on a surface

3. to go back over again

4. pursue or chase relentlessly

5. discover traces of

6. make one's course or travel along a path; travel or pass over, around, or along

7. copy by following the lines of the original drawing on a transparent sheet placed upon it; make a tracing of

8. read with difficulty

  Familiarity information: TRACE used as a verb is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• TRACE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A just detectable amount

Classified under:

Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure

Synonyms:

hint; suggestion; tint; trace

Context example:

a tint of glamour

Hypernyms ("trace" is a kind of...):

small indefinite amount; small indefinite quantity (an indefinite quantity that is below average size or magnitude)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "trace"):

spark (a small but noticeable trace of some quality that might become stronger)

Derivation:

trace (discover traces of)

Sense 2

Meaning:

An indication that something has been present

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

shadow; tincture; trace; vestige

Context example:

a tincture of condescension

Hypernyms ("trace" is a kind of...):

indicant; indication (something that serves to indicate or suggest)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "trace"):

footprint (a trace suggesting that something was once present or felt or otherwise important)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A suggestion of some quality

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

ghost; touch; trace

Context example:

he detected a ghost of a smile on her face

Hypernyms ("trace" is a kind of...):

proffer; proposition; suggestion (a proposal offered for acceptance or rejection)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A drawing created by superimposing a semitransparent sheet of paper on the original image and copying on it the lines of the original image

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

trace; tracing

Hypernyms ("trace" is a kind of...):

drawing (a representation of forms or objects on a surface by means of lines)

Derivation:

trace (make a mark or lines on a surface)

trace (copy by following the lines of the original drawing on a transparent sheet placed upon it; make a tracing of)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Either of two lines that connect a horse's harness to a wagon or other vehicle or to a whiffletree

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("trace" is a kind of...):

line (something (as a cord or rope) that is long and thin and flexible)

Holonyms ("trace" is a part of...):

harness (stable gear consisting of an arrangement of leather straps fitted to a draft animal so that it can be attached to and pull a cart)

Sense 6

Meaning:

A visible mark (as a footprint) left by the passage of person or animal or vehicle

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("trace" is a kind of...):

mark; print (a visible indication made on a surface)

Derivation:

trace (to go back over again)

trace (discover traces of)

• TRACE (verb)

Conjugation:

Sense 1

Meaning:

Follow, discover, or ascertain the course of development of something

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Synonyms:

follow; trace

Context example:

trace one's ancestry

Hypernyms (to "trace" is one way to...):

analyse; analyze; canvass; examine; study (consider in detail and subject to an analysis in order to discover essential features or meaning)

Verb group:

follow; keep abreast; keep up (keep informed)

follow; keep an eye on; observe; watch; watch over (follow with the eyes or the mind)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 2

Meaning:

Make a mark or lines on a surface

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

delineate; describe; draw; line; trace

Context example:

trace the outline of a figure in the sand

Hypernyms (to "trace" is one way to...):

mark (make or leave a mark on)

Verb group:

draw (engage in drawing)

draw (represent by making a drawing of, as with a pencil, chalk, etc. on a surface)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "trace"):

construct (draw with suitable instruments and under specified conditions)

inscribe (draw within a figure so as to touch in as many places as possible)

circumscribe (draw a line around)

circumscribe (to draw a geometric figure around another figure so that the two are in contact but do not intersect)

write (mark or trace on a surface)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Somebody ----s something PP

Derivation:

trace (a drawing created by superimposing a semitransparent sheet of paper on the original image and copying on it the lines of the original image)

tracer (an instrument used to make tracings)

tracing (the act of drawing a plan or diagram or outline)

Sense 3

Meaning:

To go back over again

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Synonyms:

retrace; trace

Context example:

trace your path

Hypernyms (to "trace" is one way to...):

return (go or come back to place, condition, or activity where one has been before)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

trace (a visible mark (as a footprint) left by the passage of person or animal or vehicle)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Pursue or chase relentlessly

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Synonyms:

hound; hunt; trace

Context example:

the detectives hounded the suspect until they found him

Hypernyms (to "trace" is one way to...):

chase; chase after; dog; give chase; go after; tag; tail; track; trail (go after with the intent to catch)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "trace"):

ferret (hound or harry relentlessly)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Sense 5

Meaning:

Discover traces of

Classified under:

Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling

Context example:

She traced the circumstances of her birth

Hypernyms (to "trace" is one way to...):

detect; discover; find; notice; observe (discover or determine the existence, presence, or fact of)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

trace (a visible mark (as a footprint) left by the passage of person or animal or vehicle)

trace (a just detectable amount)

Sense 6

Meaning:

Make one's course or travel along a path; travel or pass over, around, or along

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Context example:

The women traced the pasture

Hypernyms (to "trace" is one way to...):

continue; go forward; proceed (move ahead; travel onward in time or space)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something

Sense 7

Meaning:

Copy by following the lines of the original drawing on a transparent sheet placed upon it; make a tracing of

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Context example:

trace a pattern

Hypernyms (to "trace" is one way to...):

copy; re-create (make a replica of)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

trace (a drawing created by superimposing a semitransparent sheet of paper on the original image and copying on it the lines of the original image)

tracer (an instrument used to make tracings)

Sense 8

Meaning:

Read with difficulty

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Synonyms:

decipher; trace

Context example:

The archeologist traced the hieroglyphs

Hypernyms (to "trace" is one way to...):

read (interpret something that is written or printed)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

 Context examples 

Having crossed the marsh, I saw a trace of white over the moor.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

I thought there might be some weapon or other trace.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

If I showed any trace of what I felt, my own sorrows were sufficient to account for it.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Scientists have found traces of fatty acids - key building blocks of biological cells - in acidic streams in the UK, which they say hint that life may once have existed on Mars.

(Red Planet May Have Harbored Life in Past, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

The determination of the amount of beta-trace protein present in a sample.

(Beta-Trace Protein Measurement, NCI Thesaurus)

Of course, we had the drags at once, and set to work to recover the remains, but no trace of the body could we find.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

He passed a rope over his shoulder, a man-trace, and pulled with the dogs.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

The traces of the tragedy had been removed, but the furniture within the little room still stood as it had been on the night of the crime.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Pentadecylic acid is not normally synthesized by animals, but is found in trace amounts in dairy products.

(Pentadecylic Acid, NCI Thesaurus)

This allele, which encodes metallothionein-1G protein, plays a role in both binding and transport of trace metals.

(MT1G wt Allele, NCI Thesaurus)