trace

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verb [transitive] British English pronunciation: trace

/treɪs/

present tense
I/you/we/they	trace
he/she/it	traces
present participle	tracing
past tense	traced
past participle	traced

Related dictionary definitions

1
to find someone or something that you are looking for by asking questions and getting information
Detectives have so far failed to trace the missing woman.
trace someone to something:
They finally traced him to a town in Sicily.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of trace
1. a.
  to discover the origin of something or how it developed
  Rita decided to trace her family roots.
  trace something back to something:
  Many phobias can be traced back to childhood experiences.
  trace something to something:
  The bug was traced to milk from a farm in Yorkshire.
  Thesaurus entry for this meaning of trace
2
to describe what happened in a long process or series of events
The book traces the history of the regiment.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of trace
3
to copy an image by putting transparent paper on top and following the lines with your pencil
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of trace
1. a.
  to move your finger, lips etc along something
  He lifted his hand to trace the line of her cheekbone.
  Thesaurus entry for this meaning of trace

phrase

trace something to something
to use electronic equipment to find out where a telephone call was made
Cavan’s call was traced to a call box in Brighton.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of trace

This is the British English definition of trace. View American English definition of trace.

Change your default dictionary and thesaurus to American English.

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