trace

Noun

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

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

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

• a suggestion of some quality
  • there was a touch of sarcasm in his tone
    
  • he detected a ghost of a smile on her face
    

• an indication that something has been present
  • there wasn't a trace of evidence for the claim
    
  • a tincture of condescension
    

• a just detectable amount
  • he speaks French with a trace of an accent
    

Verb

• read with difficulty
  • Can you decipher this letter?
    
  • The archeologist traced the hieroglyphs
    

• copy by following the lines of the original drawing on a transparent sheet placed upon it; make a tracing of
  • trace a design
    
  • trace a pattern
    

• make one's course or travel along a path; travel or pass over, around, or along
  • The children traced along the edge of the dark forest
    
  • The women traced the pasture
    

• discover traces of
  • She traced the circumstances of her birth
    

• pursue or chase relentlessly
  • The hunters traced the deer into the woods
    
  • the detectives hounded the suspect until they found him
    

• to go back over again
  • we retraced the route we took last summer
    
  • trace your path
    

• make a mark or lines on a surface
  • draw a line
    
  • trace the outline of a figure in the sand
    

• follow, discover, or ascertain the course of development of something
  • We must follow closely the economic development is Cuba
    
  • trace the student's progress
    

Related words

• Synonyms: 
  tracing , touch , ghost , vestige , tincture , shadow , hint , suggestion , decipher , hound , hunt , retrace , draw , line , describe , delineate , follow