1. The act of drawing a plan, diagram or outline
   "The architect's tracing of the building's outline was the first step in the design process"
    
2. 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 tracing of the master's sketch to study the line work";
   - trace
    
3. The discovery and description of the course of development of something
   "the tracing of genealogies"

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

Derived forms: tracings

Type of: analyse [Brit, Cdn], analyze [N. Amer], canvass, chase, chase after, chase down, continue, copy, detect, discover, discovery, drafting, draftsmanship [US], draughtsmanship [Brit, Cdn], drawing, examine, find, give chase, go after, go forward, mark, move ahead, notice, observe, proceed, read, recreate, re-create, return, study, tag, track, trail, uncovering

Encyclopedia: Tracing