Webster's English Dictionary

Enter the word to look up:

trace

1. trace \'tra-s\ n [ME, fr. MF, fr. tracier to trace] archaic  1: a course 
   or path that one follows : ROAD  2a: a mark or line left by something that 
   has passed; also : FOO TPRINT 2b: a path beaten by or as if by feet : TRAIL 
    3: a sign or evidence of some past thing : VESTIGE; esp : (MENGRAM 4: 
   something traced or drawn (as a traced or lightly marked line) : as  4a: 
   the marking made by a recording instrument (as a seismograph or kymogra ph) 
   4b: the ground plan of a military installation or position either on a map  
   or on the ground 5a: the intersection of a line or plane with a plane  5b: 
   the usu. bright line or spot that moves across the screen of a cathode- ray 
   tube; also : the path taken by such a line or spot 6: a minute and often 
   barely detectable amount or indication; esp :  an amount of a chemical 
   constituent not quantitatively determined because of minuteness by 
   something that has passed. TRACE may suggest any line, mark, or discernible 
   effect; VESTIGE applies to a tangible reminder such as a fragment or 
   remnant of what is past and gone; TRACK implies a continuous line that can 
   be followed SYN syn TRACE, VESTIGE, TRACK mean a perceptible sign made 
2. trace vb [ME tracen, fr. MF tracier, fr. (assumed) VL tractiare to 
   dra]g, draw, fr. L tractus, pp. of trahere to pull, draw - more at DRAW 1a: 
   DELINEATE, SKETCH  1b: to form (as letters or figures) carefully or 
   painstakingly  1c: to copy (as a drawing) by following the lines or letters 
   as seen throu gh a transparent superimposed sheet 1d: to impress or imprint 
   (as a design or pattern) with a tracer  1e: to record a tracing of in the 
   form of a curved, wavy, or broken line <(~ the heart action} 1f: to adorn 
   with linear ornamentation (as tracery or chasing)  archaic  2: to travel 
   over : TRAVERSE  3a: to follow the footprints, track, or trail of  3b: to 
   follow or study out in detail or step by step  3c: to discover by going 
   backward over the evidence step by step  3d: to discover signs, evidence, 
   or remains of  4: to lay out the trace of (a military installation)  1: to 
   make one's way; esp : to follow a track or trail  2: to be traceable 
   historically {a family that ~s to the Nor man conquest}
3. trace n [ME trais, pl., traces, fr. MF, pl. of trait pull, draft, trace 
   -] more at TRAIT 1: either of two straps, chains, or lines of a harness for 
   attaching a hors e to something (as a vehicle) to be drawn 2: LEADER  3: 
   one or more vascular bundles supplying a leaf or twig  4: a connecting bar 
   or rod pivoted at each end to another piece and used fo r transmitting 
   motion