1
as in to define
to draw or make apparent the outline of
trace your hand onto this piece of paper
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in to track
to go after or on the track of
police traced the burglar back to his apartment, where they discovered a ton of stolen loot
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in trail
a mark or series of marks left on a surface by something that has passed along it
the wolf came and went without leaving a trace on the hard, dry ground
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in road
a passage cleared for public vehicular travel
an old trace that dates back to the days of the covered wagon
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in path
a rough course or way formed by or as if by repeated footsteps
stay on the trace, or you'll get lost in these thick woods
Synonyms & Similar Words
4
as in relic
a tiny often physical indication of something lost or vanished
a ship that appears to have vanished without a trace on the high seas
Synonyms & Similar Words
5
as in shred
a very small amount
doctors detected only a trace of bacteria in the blood sample but put the patient on antibiotics just in case
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
6
as in hint
an almost imperceptible sign of something
there didn't seem to be so much as a trace of the truth to anything he said
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of trace
Carly Tagen-Dye, People.com, 17 May 2025
Chicago police were able to trace the box truck to the 1500 block of Pershing Road and the three men were taken into custody.
—Clifford Ward, Chicago Tribune, 16 May 2025
Elizabeth Anne Brown, New York Times, 19 May 2025
For example, some lineages found in Siberian and Iberian fossils show genetic traces of North American horses.
—Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 15 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for trace
Verb
Buy Now 13 of 15 ‘Mark Twain’ by Ron Chernow
The Pulitzer-Prize winning biographer returns with a compelling account of author Mark Twain, tracing his life from his Southern childhood to his acclaimed literary career.
—Carly Tagen-Dye, People.com, 17 May 2025
Chicago police were able to trace the box truck to the 1500 block of Pershing Road and the three men were taken into custody.
—Clifford Ward, Chicago Tribune, 16 May 2025
Noun
Most standard treatment plants aren’t effective at removing trace levels of UV filters from wastewater, said Dunia Santiago, a chemical engineer at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in Spain who studies how treatment plants process contaminants.
—Elizabeth Anne Brown, New York Times, 19 May 2025
For example, some lineages found in Siberian and Iberian fossils show genetic traces of North American horses.
—Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 15 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for trace
Recent Examples of Synonyms for trace
Verb
-
Morrison, along with the Doors, were early pioneers of the psychedelic blues-rock that would define the late 1960s and early 1970s.—
Madison E. Goldberg,
People.com,
20 May 2025
-
Around the world, access to finance remains a persistent form of inequality—defined not only by whether people can open bank accounts, but by whether they are treated fairly within the system.—
Christopher Marquis,
Forbes.com,
20 May 2025
Verb
-
Two great learning metrics to track are experimentation frequency and occurrences of adaptation.—
Shazia Manus,
Forbes.com,
23 May 2025
-
Read More: The Rise of Antisemitism and Political Violence in the U.S. Last year was the worst for antisemitic incidents since ADL began tracking over four decades ago.—
Jonathan Greenblatt,
Time,
23 May 2025
Noun
-
Overall, my house is nice and clean, especially around the baseboard and perimeter, which always shows a dust trail on my dark floor.—
Yelena Moroz Alpert,
Architectural Digest,
19 May 2025
-
Detectives searched the area and found the door to Wiest’s home open and a trail of blood leading from the home to where she was found on the sidewalk, according to prosecutors.—
Kate Linderman,
Miami Herald,
19 May 2025
Noun
-
There are also four Nation Forest System roads that are impacted by the fire that need to be assessed for hazards.—
CA WILDFIRE BOT,
Sacbee.com,
30 May 2025
-
Panahi was last in the Cannes Competition with 3 Faces in 2019, a political road movie starring Iranian star Behnaz Jafari.—
Max Goldbart,
Deadline,
30 May 2025
Noun
-
The Chinese government has put its economy on a path to capturing 45 percent of global manufacturing by 2030, up from just 6 percent in 2000, the U.N. projects; a move that will make China richer and therefore stronger.—
John Feng,
MSNBC Newsweek,
23 May 2025
-
The full burst lasted 20 microseconds after the paths formed a lightning strike.—
Julian Dossett,
Space.com,
23 May 2025
Noun
-
But the Mayor’s Management Report (MMR), launched in 1977, is a relic — thousands of stats that don’t answer the only question that matters: is government actually solving problems?—
Melanie La Rocca,
New York Daily News,
27 May 2025
-
This is why gold has glittered year to date, and why the yellow relic’s move higher is likely to continue.—
Brett Owens,
Forbes.com,
24 May 2025
Noun
-
And yet, the poem’s haunting finale carried a shred of hope.—
Michael Silver,
New York Times,
22 May 2025
-
Cover and cook on LOW for 6 hours or HIGH for about 3 1/2 hours until meat shreds easily.—
Catherine Jessee,
Southern Living,
6 May 2025
Noun
-
Scientists in Taiwan looking for a ninth planet in the solar system claim to have found hints of it in archive images of the night sky taken by long-dead infrared telescopes.—
Jamie Carter,
Forbes.com,
21 May 2025
-
More recently, the brand has ventured into makeup — infusing its bestsellers with hints of color and forging the way for the skinification of makeup.—
Luisa Zargani,
Footwear News,
21 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Trace.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/trace. Accessed 3 Jun. 2025.
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