Meaning of trace In English

• 0 to find someone or something that was lost:

  • The police are trying to trace the mother of a newborn baby found abandoned outside a hospital.

  • Attempts to trace the whereabouts of a man seen leaving the scene of the crime have so far been unsuccessful.

  • Their missing daughter was finally traced to (= found in) Manchester.

  • The phone company was unable to trace the call.

  • No one has yet been able to trace the source of the rumour.

  • The outbreak of food poisoning was traced to some contaminated shellfish.

  • She has traced her family history back to the seventeenth century.

  • The practice of giving eggs at Easter can be traced back to (= first happened in) festivals in ancient China.

  • The film traces the events leading up to the Russian Revolution in 1917.

• 1 to copy a drawing or pattern, etc. by drawing over its lines through a thin piece of transparent paper:

  • Did you draw this picture yourself, or did you trace it?

  • She learned to write her name by tracing out the letters.

  • The child was tracing patterns in/on the sand with a stick.

• 2 a sign that something has happened or existed:

  • He attempted to cover up all the traces of his crime.

  • When she moved out, she left no trace of having been there.

  • My wallet has been missing for several days and I can't find any trace of it.

  • He seems to have vanished without (a) trace (= no one knows where he is).

  • The phone company put a trace on the call.

• 3 a very slight amount:

  • Traces of drugs were found in his blood.

  • There is just a trace of grey in his hair.

  • She speaks English without any trace of an accent.

  • There was the faintest trace of a smile on her lips.

  • "How wonderful!" she said, without any trace of sarcasm.

• 4 to find someone or something by searching carefully:

  • Police are trying to trace the mother of the abandoned baby.

  • The phone company was unable to trace the call (= find where it came from).

  • The outbreak of food poisoning was traced to contaminated shellfish.

  • They trace their family back to the early settlers.

  • The movie traces the events leading up to the Russian Revolution.

• 5 to copy a drawing, pattern, etc. by drawing its lines on a thin piece of paper that is placed over it

• 6 a very slight amount or degree:

  • There was a trace of a smile on his face,

  • She speaks English without the slightest trace of an accent.

• 7 a mark or sign that something happened or existed:

  • They found traces of a lost civilization in the jungle.

  • He vanished without a trace.

• 8 to follow the movements, progress, or development of something:

  • We traced the manufacturing process from the arrival of the raw materials to the shipment of the final product.

• 9 to find someone or something:

  • Will you trace the origin of these orders, please?

• 10 to describe the way in which something has developed:

  • The main aim of this project is to trace the history of the Keynesian revolution.

• 11 the process of searching for something that has been lost:

  • put a trace on sth We have put a trace on your missing luggage.