1. Follow, discover, or ascertain the course of development of something
   "trace the student's progress"; "trace one's ancestry";
   - follow
    
2. Make a mark or lines on a surface
   "trace the outline of a figure in the sand";
   - draw, line, describe, delineate
    
3. 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"
    
4. Discover traces of
   "She traced the circumstances of her birth"
    
5. To go back over again
   "trace your path";
   - retrace
    
6. 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"
    
7. Pursue or chase relentlessly
   "The hunters traced the deer into the woods";
   - hound, hunt
    
8. Read with difficulty
   "The archeologist traced the hieroglyphs";
   - decipher

1. An indication that something has been present
   "there wasn't a trace of evidence for the claim";
   - vestige, tincture, shadow
    
2. A visible mark (as a footprint) left by the passage of person, animal or vehicle
   "The hunters followed the traces of the deer through the forest"
    
3. A just detectable amount
   "he speaks French with a trace of an accent";
   - hint, tint, suggestion
    
4. A suggestion of some quality
   "there was a trace of sarcasm in his tone";
   - touch, ghost
    
5. A drawing created by superimposing a semitransparent sheet of paper on the original image and copying on it the lines of the original image
   "The art student made a trace of the master's sketch to study the line work";
   - tracing
    
6. Either of two lines that connect a horse's harness to a wagon or other vehicle or to a whiffletree
   "The farmer carefully attached the traces to the horse's harness before hitching it to the wagon"
    
7. (mathematics) the sum of the diagonal elements of a square matrix
   "The trace of the identity matrix is equal to its dimension"

Derived forms: tracing, traced, traces

Type of: analyse [Brit, Cdn], analyze [N. Amer], canvass, chase, chase after, chase down, continue, copy, detect, discover, drawing, examine, find, give chase, go after, go forward, indicant, indication, line, mark, move ahead, notice, observe, print, proceed, proffer, proposition, read, recreate, re-create, return, small indefinite amount, small indefinite quantity, study, suggestion, tag, track, trail

Part of: harness

Encyclopedia: Trace, Christopher