Trace
verb / nounBase: trace | Past: traced | Past Participle: traced | -ing: tracing | 3rd person: traces
Definition
1. (verb) To find or discover something by searching or investigating — following clues or evidence to locate something.
2. (verb) To follow or describe the origin, development, or history of something.
3. (verb) To copy a drawing or design by placing thin paper over it and following the lines.
4. (noun) A very small amount of something — barely detectable.
5. (noun) A mark, sign, or evidence that shows something existed or happened.
2. (verb) To follow or describe the origin, development, or history of something.
3. (verb) To copy a drawing or design by placing thin paper over it and following the lines.
4. (noun) A very small amount of something — barely detectable.
5. (noun) A mark, sign, or evidence that shows something existed or happened.
Context Alive
A young woman sat across from a private detective, clutching a faded photograph. She hadn't seen her biological father since she was four — all she had was his name and this one picture from a birthday party. The detective studied the photo, nodded, and said he'd do his best to trace the man. Three weeks later, he called back. He'd followed a paper trail through old addresses, employment records, and social media accounts. There was no trace of him in London anymore — he'd moved to a small village in Portugal years ago. She stared at the address written on the paper, her hands trembling. After twenty years, she was finally one phone call away from finding him.
Meanings
4 meanings 1 To Find by Searching or Investigating (Verb) Very Common ▼
This is the most common meaning of trace — to find or locate something or someone by following clues, records, or evidence. Imagine the police trying to find a stolen car. They check CCTV footage, follow number plate records, and talk to witnesses until they finally trace the vehicle to a garage on the other side of the city. This is describing a process of discovery that involves effort and detective work. You might hear "the police traced the call to a phone in Manchester" in a crime drama, meaning they followed electronic signals to find where the call came from. A bank could say "we've traced the missing payment to a system error" when they've investigated and found the cause. Or think about trying to find an old school friend — you trace them through mutual contacts, old yearbooks, and social media until you finally find their current address. The word always implies a journey of investigation, not just stumbling upon something.
✏️ In technology, trace is everywhere — you can trace an IP address, trace a phone call, trace a bug in code. The word suggests methodical, step-by-step detective work. Traceable (adjective) and untraceable are very useful: "The payment was untraceable" means it couldn't be followed back to its source.
2 To Follow the History or Origin of Something (Verb) Common ▼
This meaning is about following something back to its roots — its origin, development, or history. Imagine a historian researching a royal family — they trace the bloodline back five hundred years through birth certificates, church records, and old documents. This is describing the act of mapping out how something evolved or where it came from. You might read "the tradition can be traced back to the 14th century" in a history book, meaning researchers have followed its development all the way back to that period. A linguist could say "the word can be traced to ancient Greek" when explaining the origin of a word. Or picture a food journalist writing about coffee — they trace the journey of a coffee bean from a farm in Ethiopia to a café in London, following every step. The word implies a clear path that connects the present to the past.
✏️ The phrase "trace back to" is the most natural pattern here. You'll see it constantly in academic writing, documentaries, and journalism. It works for families ("she traced her roots back to Ireland"), traditions, words, diseases, and ideas. It's more elegant than saying "find the origin of."
3 To Copy by Following Lines (Verb) Less Common ▼
This meaning is about copying a drawing, map, or design by placing transparent paper over it and following the outlines. Imagine a child in art class who places a thin sheet of tracing paper over a cartoon picture, then carefully draws over the lines with a pencil — they're tracing the image. This is a physical, hands-on meaning of the word. You might hear a teacher say "trace the letters of the alphabet" to young children who are learning to write by following dotted outlines. An architect might trace a floor plan to make a quick copy without using a printer. Or think about someone placing paper over a gravestone and rubbing a pencil across it to capture the inscription — that's a form of tracing too. The word describes careful, precise copying that follows an existing shape or path.
✏️ This is where tracing paper gets its name — it's thin enough to see through. Children often start learning to write and draw by tracing. The word can also mean to draw something slowly and deliberately: "She traced a circle in the sand with her finger" — here she's creating the shape, not copying one.
4 A Tiny Amount / A Sign Something Existed (Noun) Common ▼
As a noun, trace means either a very small, barely detectable amount, or evidence that something was once present. Imagine forensic scientists testing water from a river — they find traces of chemicals that suggest a factory has been dumping waste illegally. The amount is tiny but detectable. This is describing something that is almost invisible but still there. You might hear a doctor say "we found traces of the drug in his blood" meaning a small but measurable amount. A detective could report "there was no trace of a break-in" meaning no evidence at all that someone forced their way in. Or picture an abandoned house — there are traces of the previous owners everywhere: faded wallpaper, scratches on the floor, a child's drawing on the back of a cupboard door. The word can describe physical residue or abstract evidence that something once existed.
✏️ Two key phrases to remember: "traces of" (small amounts — traces of blood, traces of poison) and "no trace of" (complete absence — he vanished without a trace). The phrase "without a trace" is very dramatic and common in news stories about missing people: "She disappeared without a trace."
Common Patterns
Basic Structures
trace + noun → to find or locate something through investigation
Police managed to trace the suspect through his phone records.
trace + noun + to + source → to follow something back to its origin
They traced the leak to a cracked pipe under the kitchen.
traces of + noun → small amounts or signs of something
Forensic teams found traces of blood on the carpet.
Common Structures
trace back to + origin → to follow the history of something to its starting point
The recipe can be traced back to 18th-century France.
without a trace → completely, leaving no evidence behind
The ship vanished without a trace in the middle of the Atlantic.
no trace of + noun → absolutely no evidence or sign of something
There was no trace of the missing documents anywhere in the office.
Collocations
9 collocationstrace a call
to find the origin of a phone call using technology
trace the source
to find where something originally came from
trace one's roots
to research your family history and ancestry
traces of blood
small amounts of blood found as evidence
without a trace
completely, leaving nothing behind
trace back to
to follow something to its historical origin
leave no trace
to disappear completely or clean up after yourself
faint trace
a very weak or barely visible sign of something
trace elements
chemical elements present in extremely small amounts
Example Sentences
10 examples
1
Detectives traced the stolen painting to a private collector in Switzerland.
Police investigators followed the trail and found the stolen artwork with a private buyer in Switzerland.
2
She spent years trying to trace her biological parents after discovering she was adopted.
She searched for years to find her birth mother and father after learning she'd been adopted.
3
The tradition of afternoon tea can be traced back to the 1840s in England.
The custom of drinking tea in the afternoon has its origins in 1840s England.
4
Scientists found traces of an ancient civilisation buried beneath the desert sand.
Researchers discovered evidence of a long-lost society hidden under layers of desert sand.
5
The hacker covered his tracks so well that his identity was completely untraceable.
The hacker hid his digital footprint so effectively that nobody could find out who he was.
6
The little girl carefully traced the outline of a butterfly from a colouring book.
The young girl placed paper over a colouring book and slowly copied the shape of a butterfly.
7
Blood tests revealed traces of a banned substance in the athlete's system.
Lab results showed small amounts of a prohibited drug in the sportsperson's body.
8
He disappeared without a trace one evening and was never seen again.
He vanished completely one night, leaving no clue behind, and nobody ever found him.
9
Linguists have traced the word 'salary' back to the Latin word for salt.
Language experts have followed the history of 'salary' and found it originates from the Latin term for salt.
10
There was no trace of disappointment on her face — she smiled and congratulated the winner.
She showed absolutely no sign of being upset — she smiled and praised the person who won.
Phrasal Verbs & Idioms
2 items
Idioms & Expressionsvanish / disappear without a trace — to disappear completely, leaving no evidence or clues behind
The plane disappeared without a trace over the ocean — no wreckage was ever found.
sink without a trace — to fail completely and be forgotten — used for films, books, products, etc.
The band released a second album, but it sank without a trace — nobody bought it.
Synonyms & Antonyms
6 items
Synonymstrack down
more informal — emphasises the effort of finding someone or something
locate
more formal and neutral — simply means to find the position of something
detect
to discover something that is not easy to see or notice
Antonymslose
to no longer know where something is — the opposite of tracing
conceal
to hide something so it cannot be found or traced
overlook
to miss or fail to notice something