Get the FREE one-click dictionary software for Windows
or the iPhone/iPad and Android apps
Noun: tracer  trey-su(r)
  1. An investigator who is employed to find missing persons or missing goods
    "The insurance company hired a tracer to locate the stolen artwork"
     
  2. An instrument used to make tracings
    "The architect used a tracer to copy the intricate details of the building plan"
     
  3. (radiology) any radioactive isotope introduced into the body to study metabolism or other biological processes
    "The doctor injected a tracer to track the blood flow through the patient's heart"
     
  4. Ammunition whose flight can be observed by a trail of smoke
    "The soldiers used tracer bullets to guide their aim in the darkness";
    - tracer bullet

Derived forms: tracers

Type of: ammo [informal], ammunition, detective, instrument, investigator, police detective, radioisotope, radionuclide, tec

Encyclopedia: Tracer