Collins English-English Dictionary

trace [treɪs]

1. 1. n a mark or other sign that something has been in a place; vestige

2. 2. n a tiny or scarcely detectable amount or characteristic

3. 3. n a footprint or other indication of the passage of an animal or person

4. 4. n any line drawn by a recording instrument or a record consisting of a number of such lines

5. 5. n something drawn, such as a tracing

6. 6. n [chiefly US] a beaten track or path

7. 7. n the postulated alteration in the cells of the nervous system that occurs as the result of any experience or learning - See also memory trace engram

8. 8. n [geometry] the intersection of a surface with a coordinate plane

9. 9. n [maths] the sum of the diagonal entries of a square matrix

10. 10. n [linguistics] a symbol inserted in the constituent structure of a sentence to mark the position from which a constituent has been moved in a generative process

11. 11. n [meteorol] an amount of precipitation that is too small to be measured

12. 12. n [archaic] a way taken; route

13. 13. vt. [tr] to follow, discover, or ascertain the course or development of (something)

    to trace the history of China

14. 14. vt. [tr] to track down and find, as by following a trail

15. 15. vt. to copy (a design, map, etc) by drawing over the lines visible through a superimposed sheet of transparent paper or other material

16. 16. vt. [tr; often foll by out] to draw or delineate a plan or diagram of

    she spent hours tracing the models one at a time

17. 17. vt. to outline or sketch (an idea, policy, etc)

    he traced out his scheme for the robbery

18. 18. vt. [tr] to decorate with tracery

19. 19. vt. [tr] to imprint (a design) on cloth, etc

20. 20. vt. [usually foll by back] to follow or be followed to source; date back

    his ancestors trace back to the 16th century

21. 21. vt. [archaic] to make one's way over, through, or along (something)

22. 22. vt. [Etymology] C13: from French tracier, from Vulgar Latin tractiare (unattested) to drag, from Latin tractus, from trahere to drag

trace [treɪs]

1. 1. n either of the two side straps that connect a horse's harness to the swingletree

2. 2. n [angling] a length of nylon or, formerly, gut attaching a hook or fly to a line

3. 3. n [Etymology] C14 trais, from Old French trait, ultimately from Latin trahere to drag