trace

Trace means evidence or a visible mark, or a very small amount of something. (noun)

Trace means to follow along a route, to a copy something by following along or to find something or someone. (verb)

An example of to trace is to follow the same route as a prior traveler.
An example of to trace is to draw over a picture to copy it onto a new piece of paper.
An example of to trace is to track down a criminal.

Trace means happening in very small amounts. (adjective)

An example of trace used as an adjective is in the phrase "trace substances," which means substances of which there are tiny amounts.

See trace in Webster's New World College Dictionary

noun

Obsolete a way followed or path taken
a mark, footprint, etc. left by the passage of a person, animal, or thing
☆ a beaten path or trail left by the repeated passage of persons, vehicles, etc.
any perceptible mark left by a past person, thing, or event; sign; evidence; vestige: the traces of war
a barely perceptible amount; very small quantity: a trace of anger
something drawn or traced, as a mark, sketch, etc.
the traced record of a recording instrument
1. the visible line or spot that moves across the face of a cathode-ray tube
2. the path followed by this line or spot
Chem. a very small amount, usually one quantitatively immeasurable
Math.
1. the intersection of a line or of a projecting plane of the line with the coordinate plane
2. the sum of the elements on the main diagonal of a matrix
Meteorol. precipitation amounting to less than 0.127 mm (0.005 in)
Psychol. engram

transitive verb traced, tracing

Now Rare to move along, follow, or traverse (a path, route, etc.)
to follow the trail or footprints of; track
1. to follow the development, process, or history of, esp. by proceeding from the latest to the earliest evidence, etc.
2. to determine (a source, date, etc.) by this procedure
to discover or ascertain by investigating traces or vestiges of (something prehistoric, etc.)
to draw, sketch, outline, etc.
to ornament with tracery: used chiefly in the past participle
to copy (a drawing, etc.) by following its lines on a superimposed transparent sheet
to form (letters, etc.) carefully or laboriously
to make or copy with a tracer
to record by means of a curved, broken, or wavy line, as in a seismograph

intransitive verb

Related Forms:

noun

either of two straps, chains, etc. connecting a draft animal's harness to the vehicle drawn
a rod, pivoted at each end, that transmits motion from one moving part of a machine to another

See trace in American Heritage Dictionary 4

(trās)

noun

a. A visible mark, such as a footprint, made or left by the passage of a person, animal, or thing.
b. Evidence or an indication of the former presence or existence of something; a vestige.
A barely perceivable indication; a touch: spoke with a trace of sarcasm.
a. An extremely small amount.
b. A constituent, such as a chemical compound or element, present in quantities less than a standard limit.
A path or trail that has been beaten out by the passage of animals or people.
A way or route followed.
A line drawn by a recording instrument, such as a cardiograph.
Mathematics
a. The point at which a line, or the curve in which a surface, intersects a coordinate plane.
b. The sum of the elements of the principal diagonal of a matrix.
An engram.

verb traced traced, trac·ing, trac·es

verb, transitive

To follow the course or trail of: trace a wounded deer; tracing missing persons.
To ascertain the successive stages in the development or progress of: tracing the life cycle of an insect; trace the history of a family.
To locate or discover by searching or researching evidence: trace the cause of a disease.
To draw (a line or figure); sketch; delineate.
To form (letters) with special concentration or care.
a. To copy by following lines seen through a sheet of transparent paper.
b. To follow closely (a prescribed pattern): The skater traced a figure eight.
a. To imprint (a design) by pressure with an instrument on a superimposed pattern.
b. To make a design or series of markings on (a surface) by such pressure on a pattern.
To record (a variable), as on a graph.

verb, intransitive

adjective

Occurring in extremely small amounts or in quantities less than a standard limit.

Related Forms:

(trās)

noun

One of two side straps or chains connecting a harnessed draft animal to a vehicle or whiffletree.
A bar or rod, hinged at either end to another part, that transfers movement from one part of a machine to another.

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