contact trace

verb

contact traced; contact tracing; contact traces

intransitive verb

: to identify, notify, and monitor individuals who may have had close contact with a person having a confirmed or probable case of infectious disease : to engage in the practice of contact tracing

How well a college contact traces, places infected students in isolation, disseminates a steady stream of messaging to students about following safety practices and punishes offenders all have an impact on how much the virus spreads, [Gonzalo] Bearman said.

—Eric Kolenich

Campbell County Public Health … also contact traces for diseases like measles and whooping cough, where a dozen cases qualifies as an outbreak.

—Johnathan Gallardo and Mike Moore

Yet the only way we'll all win is if we'll do everything possible between now and then—wear a mask, wash our hands, socially distance, contact trace—to put this coronavirus permanently in our rearview mirror in order to return to our old normal every hour of every day.

—Mark Wiedmer

transitive verb

: to identify and notify (someone) through contact tracing

"Our school has done the best they can to keep us all as safe as possible, but I just happened to be in an unfortunate situation and ended being contact traced. I am choosing to focus on all of the positive experiences I had this season and the great memories I made with my team."

—Alexi Fogo

Examples of contact trace in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

After completing contact tracing, Duszynski said officials reported five more measles cases that stem from the initial case. —Post-Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 10 Apr. 2025

The pandemic also spurred significant advancements in public health surveillance systems, such as through contact tracing, which leave a legacy of innovative data approaches that may be valuable for future responses. —Mark Davis, Newsweek, 14 Mar. 2025

There were no funds for at least two days to deploy a surveillance system or do effective contact tracing at Mbale, according to two doctors working at the hospital who requested anonymity because the government asked medical staff not to speak with the press. —Abdi Latif Dahir, New York Times, 7 Mar. 2025

Our contact tracing effort reached more than 3 million New Yorkers who had been infected by, or were exposed to, the virus, creating millions of opportunities to break chains of transmission. —Dr. Mitchell Katz, New York Daily News, 14 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1987, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Rhymes for contact trace

• aerospace
• anatase
• anyplace
• commonplace
• cyberspace
• database
• diabase
• diastase
• dnase
• elastase
• fireplace
• hyperspace

Medical Definition

contact trace

verb

intransitive verb

: to identify, notify, and monitor individuals who may have had close contact with a person having a confirmed or probable case of infectious disease : to engage in the practice of contact tracing

Campbell County Public Health … contact traces for diseases like measles and whooping cough, where a dozen cases qualifies as an outbreak.

—Johnathan Gallardo and Mike Moore, The Billings (Montana) Gazette

transitive verb

: to identify and notify (someone) through contact tracing

When a first major outbreak hit Grand Forks, North Dakota, in April, the problem was clear: More than 150 employees of a wind turbine blade factory were infected. The factory shut its doors for several weeks, and public health officials tested and contact traced each case.

—Sarah Mervosh and Lucy Tompkins, The Houston Chronicle