- trace
- {{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}} noun1 mark/sign that shows sb/sth happened/existedADJECTIVE▪ archaeological, historical▪ indelible, permanent▪ memory (technical)VERB + TRACE▪ leave▪
The burglar had left several traces of his presence.
▪Little trace is left of how Stone Age people lived.
▪ bear, reveal, show▪ discover, find▪The search party had found no trace of the missing climbers.
▪ erase, obliterate, remove▪Remove all traces of rust with a small wire brush.
TRACE + VERB▪ remain▪Traces still remain of the old brewery.
PREPOSITION▪ with a trace of sth, without a trace of sth▪‘No thanks,’ she said, with a trace of irritation in her voice.
▪ without trace (BrE), without a trace▪The plane was lost without a trace over the Atlantic.
▪The ship seems to have sunk without trace.
2 very small amount of sthADJECTIVE▪ discernible (esp. BrE), faint, minute, slight, small, tiny▪There was not the faintest trace of irony in her voice.
▪ unmistakableVERB + TRACE▪ contain▪The water was found to contain traces of cocaine.
▪ detect, findTRACE + NOUN▪ amount▪ element, gas, metal, mineral▪Seaweed is rich in vitamins and trace elements.
PREPOSITION▪ trace of▪{{Roman}}II.{{/Roman}}a trace of amusement/anxiety/a smile
verb1 find out where sth is/where it comes fromADVERB▪ successfullyVERB + TRACE▪ be able to, be unable to, can▪Police have been unable to trace her movements during her final days.
▪ attempt to, try to▪ help (to)▪ fail to▪ be difficult to▪ be possible toPREPOSITION▪ to▪The stolen paintings have been successfully traced to a London warehouse.
2 find/describe the cause/origin of sthADVERB▪ carefully▪ easily▪Words have over the centuries acquired meanings not easily traced in dictionaries.
▪ directly▪ backVERB + TRACE▪ can▪ attempt to, try to▪ be difficult to▪The origins of the custom are difficult to trace.
▪ be possible toPREPOSITION▪ to▪The book traces the history of the game back to an incident in 1863.
3 mark where the line of sth is with a thin objectADVERB▪ gently, lightly▪ slowlyPREPOSITION▪ with▪She lightly traced the outline of his face with her finger.
Trace is used with these nouns as the subject: ↑exhibitionTrace is used with these nouns as the object: ↑ancestor, ↑ancestry, ↑arc, ↑beginning, ↑call, ↑circle, ↑connection, ↑descent, ↑design, ↑development, ↑emergence, ↑evolution, ↑finger, ↑heritage, ↑history, ↑influence, ↑movement, ↑origin, ↑outline, ↑owner, ↑path, ↑pattern, ↑progress, ↑relative, ↑root, ↑route, ↑shape, ↑thread, ↑witness
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
