tracetrace1 /treɪs/ ●●○ AWL verb [transitive] 
She had given up all hope of tracing her missing daughter. Police are trying to trace a young woman who was seen near the accident.► see thesaurus at find2origins to find the origins of when something began or where it came fromtrace something (back) to something They’ve traced their ancestry to Scotland. The style of these paintings can be traced back to early medieval influences.3history/development to study or describe the history, development, or progress of something: Sondheim’s book traces the changing nature of the relationship between men and women.4copy to copy a drawing, map etc by putting a piece of transparent paper over it and then drawing the lines you can see through the paper
► see thesaurus at draw5with your finger to draw real or imaginary lines on the surface of something, usually with your finger or toetrace something on/in/across something Rosie’s fingers traced a delicate pattern in the sand.6trace a call to find out where a telephone call is coming from by using special electronic equipment: His call was traced and half an hour later police arrested him.—traceable adjective
WORD ORIGINtrace1
Origin:
1200-1300 Old French tracier, from Vulgar Latin tractiare ‘to pull’, from Latin trahereVERB TABLE
trace
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | trace |
| he, she, it | traces | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | traced |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have traced |
| he, she, it | has traced | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had traced |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will trace |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have traced |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am tracing |
| he, she, it | is tracing | |
| you, we, they | are tracing | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was tracing |
| you, we, they | were tracing | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been tracing |
| he, she, it | has been tracing | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been tracing |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be tracing |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been tracing |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- "Did you draw this yourself?" "No, I traced it."
- Keep him on the line so we can trace the call.
- Philips hired a private detective to trace his daughter, who had been missing for two months.
- Police are still trying to trace the missing child.
- Police are trying to trace a red van, which several witnesses reported seeing near the scene of the crime.
- Students will trace the development of labor unions in the U.S.
- The cash was eventually traced to a prominent Paris lawyer.
- The children traced the map of France and then wrote in the names of the places they had visited.
- The tradition traces back to medieval Spain.
- It has begun tracing lines, through totally vacant space, between recurrences.
- It takes a bit of detective work to trace the symptom back to the cause.
- Nor is the manner in which Mumford traces the historical roots of this development much different from that of Wittfogel.
- Once again one can trace some continuities of practice with older forms of representation.
- The other student has not been traced.
- Their ancestry can be traced in the Reading area as far back as 1240.
THESAURUS
to get or see something that you have been searching for: · Have you found your passport yet?· Police later found the car abandoned in a wood.
to find something that was hidden or that people did not know about before: · A second bomb has been discovered in south London.
formal to find the exact position of something: · The airline are still trying to locate my luggage.· Online maps make it easy to locate almost any place in the world.
to find something unexpectedly when you are not looking for it: · I came across some old letters from my father in my drawer.
to find something unexpectedly, especially something very important: · They may have stumbled across some vital evidence.· Completely by chance we had stumbled on the biggest hit of the year.
to find someone or something that has disappeared, especially by a careful process of collecting information: · She had given up all hope of tracing her missing daughter.
to find someone or something that is difficult to find by searching in different places: · I’ve been trying to track down a book that’s out of print.· The police managed to track down the killer.
to find something that has been hidden or lost for a long time, by digging or searching for it: · In 1796, a carved stone was unearthed near the burial mound.
to make a picture, pattern etc using a pen or pencil: · The children were asked to draw a picture of their families.· I’m going to art classes to learn how to draw.
to draw a picture of something or someone quickly and without a lot of detail: · Roy took a pencil and sketched the bird quickly, before it moved.
to draw the pictures in a book: · It’s a beautiful book, illustrated by Arthur Rackham.
to draw shapes or patterns without really thinking about what you are doing: · He was on the phone, doodling on his notepad as he spoke.
to draw shapes or lines without making a definite picture or pattern. Small children do this before they have learned to draw or write: · At the age of two, she loved scribbling with crayons and coloured pencils.
to copy a picture by putting a piece of thin paper over it and drawing the lines that you can see through the paper: · First trace the map, and then copy it into your workbooks.
Longman Language Activatorto draw a picture, pattern, line etc to make a picture, pattern, line etc using a pen or pencil: · What are you drawing?· She can draw really well.· I'm good at drawing animals, but I can't draw people.draw a picture of somebody/something: · Mike was sitting outside, drawing a picture of the trees at the bottom of the garden.draw a line/circle/square etc: · Someone had drawn a line under my name.
to make a quick, simple drawing of a person, place etc, without many details: · Maggie grabbed a piece of paper and quickly sketched the bird before it flew away.· He sat by the river, sketching.
to draw shapes, lines, or patterns without really thinking about what you are doing, for example when you are thinking about something else or when you feel bored: · I always doodle while I'm talking on the phone.doodle on: · Simon was lying on the floor, doodling on a sheet of paper.
to quickly draw lines and shapes without making any particular pattern, shape, or picture - use this especially about what small children do before they have learnt to draw or write: · Katie can't draw a real picture yet but she enjoys scribbling with crayons.scribble all over/on something: · Oh no! One of the kids has scribbled all over my report!
to copy a picture by putting transparent paper over it and then drawing along the lines of the picture: · The children traced the map of France and then wrote in the names of the places they had visited.
to find someone or something that is lost to find someone or something that you have lost: · I've looked everywhere, but I can't find my sunglasses.· Have you found your passport yet?· The murder weapon was found outside the house.· Luis was gone, and she had no way of ever finding him again.
if something that is lost turns up , someone finds it later in a place where they did not expect it to be: · Don't worry about your earrings - I'm sure they'll turn up sooner or later.· Have those files turned up yet?
to find someone or something by a careful process of asking a lot of people for information: · Police are trying to trace a red van, which several witnesses reported seeing near the scene of the crime.· The cash was eventually traced to a prominent Paris lawyer.· Philips hired a private detective to trace his daughter, who had been missing for two months.
to find someone or something that is difficult to find, by searching or by making inquiries in several different places: track down somebody/something: · The police have had a difficult time tracking down Corbin.· I have copies of the documents but haven't managed to track down the originals.· The president vowed to track down those responsible for the bombing.track somebody/something down: · It took Alvin quite a while to track her down, but he eventually found her.
WORD SETSabstract, nounacrylic, adjectiveacrylics, nounaltarpiece, nounaquatint, nounbrush, nounbrushwork, nouncanvas, nouncartridge paper, nouncollage, nouncubism, noundiptych, noundrawing, nouneasel, nounetching, nounexecute, verbexecution, nounfauvism, nounfigure, nounfix, verbfixative, nounframe, verbfreehand, adjectivefresco, nounfull face, adjectivegallery, nounglaze, noungouache, nounhalf-length, adjectivehatching, nounhighlight, nounhue, nounicon, nounillustration, nounillustrator, nounimpressionism, nounimpressionist, nounlettering, nounlife, nounline drawing, nounlithograph, nounlithography, nounminiature, nounminiaturist, nounmural, nounoil paint, nounoil painting, nounold master, nounpaintbox, nounpaintbrush, nounpainter, nounpainterly, adjectivepainting, nounpalette, nounpalette knife, nounpanel, nounpastel, nounpastel, adjectivepencil, nounperspective, nounpictogram, nounpigment, nounpointillism, nounportrait, nounportraiture, nounposter paint, nounprimitive, nounretouch, verbrice paper, nounseascape, nounself-portrait, nounshade, nounshade, verbshading, nounshow, verbsit, verbsitting, nounsketch, nounsketch, verbstencil, nounstencil, verbstill life, nounstipple, verbsubject, nounsurrealism, nounsurrealistic, adjectivetempera, nountrace, verbtriptych, nounview, nounwall painting, nounwatercolour, noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES Wagner calls his program ‘the worst talk show in America,’ without a hint of irony. There was just a touch of sarcasm in her voice.
· I could detect the hint of a German accent in her voice.
(=a small amount in someone's eyes or voice)· Was there a hint of amusement in her voice?
(also disappear without trace British English) (=completely)· Hundreds of people disappear without trace every year.
(=a very small sign that someone feels an emotion)· I thought I saw a flicker of emotion in his eyes.
(=find the origins of when an animal, plant etc began or where it came from)· Anthropologists can trace the evolution of plants and animals by examining fossils.
(=find the origins of when something began or where it came from)· The show traced the evolution of black American music from gospel through soul to hip-hop
(=find out what the history of something is)· James traces the history of modern cricket back to its beginnings in the late 1700s.
(=a very small amount of humour)· She replied with a rare flash of humour.
Wagner calls his program ‘the worst talk show in America,’ without a hint of irony. (=used to say that something can find evidence that it began to exist at a particular time or in a particular place)· The Roman Catholic Church traces its origins back to the 4th century.
(=find where, when etc something began to exist)· It’s difficult to trace the origin of some words.
(=draw the outline of something, usually with your finger or toe)· She traced the outline of his lips with her fingers.
(=a small amount of poison that is still present somewhere)· Traces of the poison were found in the family car.
There was just a touch of sarcasm in her voice. (=disappear so that no sign remains) The youngster vanished without a trace one day and has never been found.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB The youngster vanished without a trace one day and has never been found.· Could the jeopardy you were in be traced back to the school somehow?· A tax on inherited estates began in 1894, though death duties can be traced back much further.· The theory is that the rage and intensity with which he plays can be traced back to his childhood.· The role of auditors can be traced back many hundreds of years.· The money was traced back to the bills missing from the bank, and the man got what was coming to him.· Each word has component parts which can be traced back to one of 800 roots.· Such patterns could be traced back to the original ranchos, five of which once divided up the Los Angeles basin.
NOUN· Incidentally, this means that we can use mitochondria to trace our ancestry, strictly down the female line.· Different parts of the cells of trees or elephants trace their ancestry to a whole range of ancient beings.
· Costing about £150,000, the exhibition traces the development of trams in towns and cities throughout Britain from the Victorian era.· The museum's collecting philosophy is to acquire multiple works of individual artists in order to fully trace their development.· This work traces the development of social movement theory and research.· This knowledge allows him to trace the development of Proustian themes and reconstruct how Proust wrote his book, step by step.· The present system of bargaining and control is therefore best understood by tracing its origins and developments.· In the How to series, Hazel Richardson traces the development of scientific ideas and their applications.· Marshall traced the development of a legal status of citizenship in the United Kingdom through a number of historical stages.· The purpose is to trace the development of expertise in the comprehension and use of GIS-generated maps.
· But the task of this chapter, of tracing the evolution of learning and memory-like phenomena in non-human animals, is done.· The result is deeply layered, complex works tracing that evolution in its historical perspective.
· The Red Cross is often asked to trace family members and friends who have become separated.· He has made queries to newsgroups, keeping an attentive eye out for others who might be tracing the same family.· Newsgroups are also highly popular as a means of tracing family members who may have fled conflict or natural disaster.· He traced his Ulster family with the help of Barnardos and by placing advertisements in Belfast newspapers.· Last night police were trying to trace relatives of the family, who are thought to have lived in Bristol.· Also, is it possible to trace my family records from this?· Much effort went into tracing remote family connections abroad on the off chance of identifying a benefactor.
· My finger traces a path down to the peninsula of Grand Isle.· The middle finger traced a heart on her lips.· She could feel his fingers tracing the curve of her neck.· She felt Ferdi's fingers trace the line of her lashes along her cheek and smiled.· Even now, the fist's bud flowers into trembling, the fingers trace each line and see the future then.· I raise my arm, my finger traces a bird on the shape of the moon over the trees in front of me.· With an outstretched finger, she traced the lines of Pascoe's sleeping face.· Then, his aunt, her long cool fingers tracing his features, stroking his hair.
· It is possible to obtain Parliamentary materials and it is possible to trace the history.· Her life traced the social history of women in this century.· Rawcliffe Rawcliffe can trace its history back to 1078, the name of the village undergoing many changes in that time.· We have traced her history from the great goddesses of the pre-patriarchal period, especially Inanna and her handmaiden, Lilith.· Can you help me trace the history of my Land Rover?· The book by Folkwin Wendland, a trained garden- and landscape architect, traces its history since 1450.· After a friend recognised the piece of furniture, Mr Pilkington began tracing its history.· And trace the history of Harry Corbett and his successor Matthew Corbett.
· Purse-strings, whether tightly or slackly held, tend faithfully to trace lines of power.· And I began tracing the lines of his face.· Water trickled from the brown earth near the roots of the bush and traced a dark line through the tall grass.· It has begun tracing lines, through totally vacant space, between recurrences.· The crimson rivulets were lengthening, tracing lines down his throat and soaking into the collar of his overalls.· I hugged him, then traced lines on his biceps, around his back, a five-finger exercise pianissimo.· She felt Ferdi's fingers trace the line of her lashes along her cheek and smiled.· He traced the heart line from her chin to her forehead and down again.
· Purse-strings, whether tightly or slackly held, tend faithfully to trace lines of power.· And I began tracing the lines of his face.· The crimson rivulets were lengthening, tracing lines down his throat and soaking into the collar of his overalls.· It has begun tracing lines, through totally vacant space, between recurrences.· More deflector panels sweep the beam backwards and forwards across the screen to trace out the picture lines.· I hugged him, then traced lines on his biceps, around his back, a five-finger exercise pianissimo.· Cyclists traced greasy lines up and down the tarmac.· With an outstretched finger, she traced the lines of Pascoe's sleeping face.
· Their analysis traces the political origins and impact of social movement activity in terms of the protection of individual rights of citizenship.· If today such spending amounts to roughly two-thirds of all economic activity, we can trace its origin back to the 1920s.· The present system of bargaining and control is therefore best understood by tracing its origins and developments.· Cellular technology is not a new concept; some authorities have traced its origins to 1947.· This makes tracing the origin a difficult matter.· Many trace the origin of this crisis to the 1993 advent of free agency, which has sent salaries skyrocketing.· They are a very old family and trace their origins back right through the centuries.· In raising such questions, the intention is to lay warnings about tracing the origins of voluntary collectivism in selected traditions.
· Slowly and sensually he traced the outline of her lips with the tip of his tongue.· His hand moved round and round, tracing the outline of a blue ring.· Who will trace in sleep the outline of my hips?· I eased the steel strip out, drawing it downward to trace the outline of what seemed to be a bolt.· The artist then laboriously traces the outline of the image placing anchor points and stretching the curves or lines between them.· It's said that he first traced the outline for his ladylike creation around a tall woman friend.· If it is thin enough you will be able to trace the outlines of a plot originally drawn on graph paper.· Instead his mouth pressed against the soft cotton, tracing the outline of her body and making her shudder.
· They would be responsible for reminders when premiums became due, and could trace owners through their records.· Voice over Police are hoping to trace original owners but admit it's an uphill task.· With luck, it would contain enough information to trace its owner.· Washing line: Police in Ripon are trying to trace the owners of stolen washing recovered after four men were arrested.· Despite efforts by the police to trace the original owners, some jewellery has remained unclaimed.· Computerised equipment can trace registered owners and send out hundreds of summonses each day.· They'd attempt to trace the owner and inform him, and that was it.
· My finger traces a path down to the peninsula of Grand Isle.· That other story, likewise, traced the path from poverty to wealth and obscurity to fame.· Through the binoculars, I traced the path I had taken the night before when following Victor.· On this basis, the possibility can be envisaged of tracing the paths of divergent theistic routes.
· But he sat on the stump, tracing patterns in the earth.· She traced a pattern over the rough-hewn stone of the sill, while behind her there was no sound of retreating footsteps.· Various spirals, therefore, trace the patterns of our most important heavenly bodies.· Idly she traced the pattern of the marble-topped table with a slender finger.· Children can trace animal locomotion patterns on lit-up footprints and use plasma screens to project kaleidoscopic patterns on the wall.· The invisible lines, which traced the patterns of their existence, merged into one.
· It did not take long for the police to trace Mrs Dyer to Caversham where she was arrested.· Mr Collier was last seen alive on June 6 returning to his flat with another man whom police are trying to trace.· Last night police were trying to trace relatives of the family, who are thought to have lived in Bristol.· It took police four days to trace the couple to Bridgnorth in Ontario.· Voice over Police are hoping to trace original owners but admit it's an uphill task.· But police failed to trace the man.· The driver was certified dead at the scene and police were trying to trace relatives last night.· Despite efforts by the police to trace the original owners, some jewellery has remained unclaimed.
· Many patients with severe chemical sensitivity trace their problems back to an incident of this sort.· Partnerships have the same tracing problems as sole proprietorships.· Sometimes it is possible to trace some problems with tempo or balance to the parts the musicians are using.· The issue involved with the tracing of any problem or interest is to identify each nexus where a departure becomes apparent.
· Wycliffe traced the route the undertaker must have taken.· Some will be fitted with satellite collars, in an effort to trace their migratory route.· She began to divert from the path, tracing a semicircular route round the bonnet of the car.
· For these reasons it is often difficult in many cases to trace a single primary source.· You set up a money chain that makes it impossible to trace the source.· In fact, however far back I trace the source in a horizontal manner, I never reach an ultimate answer.· This sample is being traced through such sources as the Registrar of Births and Deaths, and was identified again in 1981.· In an impressive dream sequence, Westland traces the source of this business inadequacy to his helicopter childhood and wakes up screaming.· This has shown that the two areas produce distinctive mineral suites that can be used to trace the source of ancient sediments.· Trading standards officers are now trying to trace the source of these videos.· The two women remained motionless, gazing up at the ceiling as if to trace the source and direction of the footsteps.
VERB· Although this road emerges on the eastern side of the town, attempts to trace it much further have failed.· The first task attempted will be to trace the train of thought in this unit.· They'd attempt to trace the owner and inform him, and that was it.
· She began to trace circles on the table top with the drops of spilt coffee.· And I began tracing the lines of his face.· After a friend recognised the piece of furniture, Mr Pilkington began tracing its history.· It has begun tracing lines, through totally vacant space, between recurrences.
· Can you help me trace the history of my Land Rover?· The information will help law enforcement authorities trace ownership of the weapon back to the original gun dealer.· He'd even questioned some of the older members of the Lucy Ghosts in private to help trace the fugitive.
· Police are still trying to trace the occupants of the house in Labrok Road, Trowbridge.· Rumors battled with fact as authorities tried to trace his flight.· Detectives are now trying to trace the ringleader of what could be a new international racket.· Mr Collier was last seen alive on June 6 returning to his flat with another man whom police are trying to trace.· Police in Herefordshire were last night trying to trace Theresa's relatives, who are believed to be on holiday.· It is always worth trying to trace a specific witness if their testimony is important.· Police are trying to trace a young woman cyclist who passed the victim moments before the attack.· Detectives are still trying to trace people who knew Mr McEvoy.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
- But perhaps even misogynists can kick over the traces.
- If one of them kicked over the traces, there was hell to pay until he fell obediently back into line.
- They fall down and get up again; they educate themselves and kick over the traces.
- But unlike the Titanic, the story of the Tek Sing and its passengers sank without trace.
- Early attempts - including putting a ping-pong ball inside a soap bar - sank without trace.
- It was even tried years ago by Olivetti among others, but those products sank without trace.
- Many small labels have sunk without trace.
- Now that has all been sunk without trace.
- The Labour government broke up and the report of the Macmillan Committee sank without trace.
- Then the shipyards sank without trace, and it was three years on the dole.
WORD FAMILYnountraceadjectivetraceableverbtrace
1find somebody/something to find someone or something that has disappeared by searching for them carefully: She had given up all hope of tracing her missing daughter. Police are trying to trace a young woman who was seen near the accident.► see thesaurus at find2origins to find the origins of when something began or where it came fromtrace something (back) to something They’ve traced their ancestry to Scotland. The style of these paintings can be traced back to early medieval influences.3history/development to study or describe the history, development, or progress of something: Sondheim’s book traces the changing nature of the relationship between men and women.4copy to copy a drawing, map etc by putting a piece of transparent paper over it and then drawing the lines you can see through the paper► see thesaurus at draw5with your finger to draw real or imaginary lines on the surface of something, usually with your finger or toetrace something on/in/across something
Rosie’s fingers traced a delicate pattern in the sand.6trace a call to find out where a telephone call is coming from by using special electronic equipment: His call was traced and half an hour later police arrested him.—traceable adjective