TRACE • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Trace

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Trace

noun

1.

A just detectable amount. Synonyms: hint, suggestion.

2.

An indication that something has been present. Synonyms: shadow, tincture, vestige. "A tincture of condescension"

3.

A suggestion of some quality. Synonyms: ghost, touch. "He detected a ghost of a smile on her face"

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. Synonym: tracing.

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.

verb

(past & past part. traced; pres. part. tracing)

1.

Follow, discover, or ascertain the course of development of something. Synonym: follow. "Trace the student's progress"

2.

Make a mark or lines on a surface. Synonyms: delineate, describe, draw, line. "Trace the outline of a figure in the sand"

3.

To go back over again. Synonym: retrace. "Trace your path"

4.

Pursue or chase relentlessly. Synonyms: hound, hunt. "The detectives hounded the suspect until they found him"

5.

Discover traces of.

6.

Make one's course or travel along a path; travel or pass over, around, or along. "The women traced the pasture"

7.

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

8.

Read with difficulty. Synonym: decipher. "The archeologist traced the hieroglyphs"

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WordNet 3.0 © 2010 Princeton University

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"Trace" Quotes from Famous Books

... its peculiar colouring; Marly showed that of Louis XIV. even more than Versailles. Everything in the former place appeared to have been produced by the magic power of a fairy's wand. Not the slightest trace of all this splendour remains; the revolutionary spoilers even tore up the pipes which served to supply the fountains. Perhaps a brief description of this palace and the usages established there by Louis XIV. ...

— Memoirs Of The Court Of Marie Antoinette, Queen Of France, Complete • Madame Campan

... that life had been so impulsive, so straightforward, so simple a thing to her that this sudden implication in an affair complicated and even dishonest caused her bitter disquiet. Looking back now I could trace again and again the sudden flashes, through her ...

— The Dark Forest • Hugh Walpole

... Many labourers can trace their descent from farmers or well-to-do people, and it is not uncommon to find here and there a man who believes that he is entitled to a large property in Chancery, or elsewhere, as the heir. They are very fond of talking of these things, and naturally take a ...

— The Toilers of the Field • Richard Jefferies

... child's face so sedulously for the first few days from the mother. Mrs. Crawfurd took the matter quite peaceably, and was relieved that no worse misfortune had befallen her or her offspring. "Poor little dear!" it was sad that she should carry such a trace; but she daresayed she would outgrow it, or she must wear flat curls—it was a pity that they had gone quite out of fashion. It was the father who kissed the mark passionately, and carried the child oftenest in his arms, and ...

— Girlhood and Womanhood - The Story of some Fortunes and Misfortunes • Sarah Tytler

... enough to receive the trap, with its log, and chain. Set the traps, supporting the pan by pushing some of the chaff beneath it. Now lay a piece of paper over the pan and sprinkle the chaff over it evenly and smoothly, until every trace of the trap and its appendages is obliterated. Endeavor to make the bed look as it has previously done, and bait it with the same materials. Avoid treading much about the bed and step in the same tracks as far as possible. Touch nothing with the naked hands. Cover ...

— Camp Life in the Woods and the Tricks of Trapping and Trap Making • William Hamilton Gibson

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