trace */*/

I UK [treɪs] / US verb [transitive]
Word forms "trace":
present tense I/you/we/they trace he/she/it traces present participle tracing past tense traced past participle traced

1)

a) to find someone or something that you are looking for by asking questions and getting information

Detectives have so far failed to trace the missing woman.

trace someone to something:

They finally traced him to a town in Sicily.

b) to discover the origin of something or how it developed

Rita decided to trace her family roots.

trace something back to something:

Many phobias can be traced back to childhood experiences.

trace something to something:

The bug was traced to milk from a farm in Yorkshire.

2) to describe what happened in a long process or series of events

The book traces the history of the regiment.

3)

a) to copy an image by putting transparent paper on top and following the lines with your pencil

b) to move your finger, lips etc along something

He lifted his hand to trace the line of her cheekbone.

•

- trace something to something

II UK [treɪs] / US noun
Word forms "trace":
singular trace plural traces

1) [countable/uncountable] a slight sign that someone has been present or that something has happened

The intruders were careful not to leave any trace behind them.

trace of:

All traces of the damage had vanished.

disappear/vanish without trace:

She was seen leaving the house, then vanished without trace.

2)

a) [countable] a very small amount of a substance, especially when it is too small to see clearly or measure accurately

trace of:

Traces of blood were found in the bathroom.

b) a slight sign of an emotion

trace of:

There was a trace of anxiety in her voice.

3) [countable] a process for finding the origin of something, for example who made a telephone call or what has caused a problem

4) [countable] a pattern that a machine makes on a screen or piece of paper when it is recording an electrical signal