trace
verb/treɪs/
/treɪs/
Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they trace | /treɪs/ /treɪs/ |
| he / she / it traces | /ˈtreɪsɪz/ /ˈtreɪsɪz/ |
| past simple traced | /treɪst/ /treɪst/ |
| past participle traced | /treɪst/ /treɪst/ |
| -ing form tracing | /ˈtreɪsɪŋ/ /ˈtreɪsɪŋ/ |
- trace somebody/something (to something) to find or discover somebody/something by looking carefully for them/it synonym track down
- We finally traced him to an address in Chicago.
- I have been unable to trace the letter you mentioned.
Extra ExamplesTopics Crime and punishmentb2- The stolen paintings have been successfully traced to a London warehouse.
- Police are anxious to trace the owners of a car parked near the scene.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- successfully
- be able to
- be unable to
- can
- …
- to
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- trace something (back) (to something) to find the origin or cause of something
- She could trace her family tree back to the 16th century.
- The leak was eventually traced to a broken seal.
- The police traced the call (= used special electronic equipment to find out who made the phone call) to her ex-husband's number.
Extra ExamplesTopics Phones, email and the internetb2, Family and relationshipsb2- The origins of the custom are difficult to trace.
- Words have over the centuries acquired meanings not easily traced in dictionaries.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- carefully
- easily
- directly
- …
- can
- attempt to
- try to
- …
- to
- trace something (from something) (to something) to describe a process or the development of something
- Her book traces the town's history from Saxon times to the present day.
- trace something (out) to draw a line or lines on a surface
- She traced a line in the sand.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- gently
- lightly
- slowly
- …
- with
- trace something to follow the shape or outline of something
- He traced the route on the map.
- A tear traced a path down her cheek.
- She lightly traced the outline of his face with her finger.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- gently
- lightly
- slowly
- …
- with
- trace something to copy a map, drawing, etc. by drawing on tracing paper (= paper that you can see through) placed over itOxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
- gently
- lightly
- slowly
- …
- with
Word Originverb Middle English (first recorded as a noun in the sense ‘path that someone or something takes’): from Old French trace (noun), tracier (verb), based on Latin tractus ‘drawing, draught’, from trahere ‘draw, pull’.
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