All 10 Uses of
trace
in
Childhood's End
- It should not be difficult to trace him, thought Stormgren, if he ever got out of this place.†
Chpt 3
- There must be a limit even to Karellen's power, and if he were indeed buried in some remote continent, all the science of the Overlords might be unable to trace him.†
Chpt 3
- Stormgren might be anywhere on Earth, and there seemed little hope of tracing him.†
Chpt 3 *
- He searched the heavens as far as he could see, and found no trace of it.†
Chpt 3 *
- Now that they're located, I can trace their movements anywhere on Earth, and can watch their actions in detail if I want to.†
Chpt 3
- Stormgren's feelings were very mixed as he stared at that scarcely visible inflexion of the trace.†
Chpt 4
- The meeting must have lain in the remOte past, for it had left no traces in recorded history.†
Chpt 6
- It seemed so unfair that the Overlords' faces, rigid as masks, betrayed no trace of emotion.†
Chpt 14
- Gone without a trace were the millions, of kilowatts that once had been splashed carelessly towards the stars.†
Chpt 22
- "It seems strange," said Jan, "that the Overmind chose you to do its work, if you have no trace of the paraphysical powers latent in mankind.†
Chpt 23
Definitions:
-
(trace as in: found a trace of) a small quantity; or any indication or evidence ofThe exact meaning of this sense of trace depends upon its context. For example:
- a small indication that something was present -- as in "The plane disappeared somewhere over the Pacific Ocean without leaving a trace."
- a very small amount of something -- as in "The blood test showed a trace of steroids."
- any evidence of something -- as in "We did not find a trace of the gene."
-
(trace as in: trace the origin or development) to find, search, research, or keep track ofThis sense of trace usually has to do with information. It's specific meaning depends on its context. For example:
to find or search for something through investigation -- often the origin of something:
- "The police traced the call." -- found out where it originated
- "We are tracing the lost luggage" -- searching for
- "Can you trace the problem to its source?" -- find through investigation
- "She traced her family history to discover that her great-grandmother came to the United States from Lithuania when the Nazis occupied it." -- discovered something through investigation
to research or report on the development of something
- "She traced the history of the automobile in her paper." -- researched the development of something
- "Her presentation traced recent progress in alternative energy solutions." -- reported on
to monitor or keep track of the progress or development of something
- "She traces the progress of at-risk students." -- monitors information
- "I used binoculars to trace her progress up the mountain." -- monitor, follow, or track