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say it: trays
trace is a verb and noun meaning "follow, discover, or ascertain the course of development of something". It carries 14 recorded senses.
make one's course or travel along a path; travel or pass over, around, or along
“The children traced along the edge of the dark forest”
“The women traced the pasture”
copy by following the lines of the original drawing on a transparent sheet placed upon it; make a tracing of
“trace a design”
“trace a pattern”
a just detectable amount
“he speaks French with a trace of an accent”
“a hint mockery in her manner”
“a tint of glamour”
an indication that something has been present
“there wasn't a trace of evidence for the claim”
“a tincture of condescension”
a suggestion of some quality
“there was a touch of sarcasm in his tone”
“he detected a ghost of a smile on her face”
a visible mark (as a footprint) left by the passage of person or animal or vehicle
Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.
Definitions, synonyms and semantic relations for trace come from Princeton University’s WordNet. The pronunciation comes from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. Commonness is measured against a corpus of everyday English. Full sources and licences.