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trace
in a sentence
grouped by contextual meaning

trace as in:  found a trace of

show 10 more with this conextual meaning
  • The study found traces of cocaine on most $20 bills used in large cities of the United States and Canada.
    traces = tiny quantities
  • There isn't a trace of evidence to support her story.
    trace = a tiny quantity or indication
  • "Yes, it is," the Warden agreed, with just a trace of disappointment in her voice.   (source)
    trace = small amount
  • There wasn't a trace of cunning in May, and you could depend on her not to overthink her answers.   (source)
    trace = tiny amount
  • But Nat had slipped out of the room and his halfhearted pursuers reported not a single trace of him.   (source)
    trace = indication or sign
  • He didn't like that I rushed home from the junkyard the moment the work was finished, or that I removed every trace of grease before going out with Charles.   (source)
    trace = tiny amount
  • With a warrant we can search her place for any trace of red fibers that match those found on Chase's clothes.   (source)
    trace = small quantity
  • There was the trace of a grin on her face as she and Rudy Steiner, her best friend, handed out the pieces of bread on the road.   (source)
    trace = slight indication or sign
  • There was no trace of her orange fur. The cat was powdered brown.   (source)
    trace = indication or sign
  • Not only are the scars from the arena gone, but those accumulated over years of hunting have vanished without a trace.   (source)
    trace = indication that they were ever there
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show 89 more with this conextual meaning
  • If August has children with someone who doesn't have a trace of the gene, there's a 100 percent probability that their kids will inherit the gene, but a zero percent chance that their kids will have a double dose of it, like August.   (source)
    trace = indication (any evidence)
  • It was as though they wanted to remove all traces of womankind from public life.   (source)
    traces = indications or signs
  • "I'm sorry, the cabbies in this town are sharks," he said in perfect English, without a trace of an accent.   (source)
    trace = small quantity or indication
  • All traces of the bomb they'd planted were probably melting into slag right now.   (source)
    traces = small bits
  • The words shone momentarily on the page and they, too, sank without trace.   (source)
    trace = any indication left
  • In 1973, Bill posted an enigmatic letter alluding vaguely to plans for an extended trip and then disappeared without a trace; to this day nobody knows what became of him.   (source)
    trace = indication or sign (of him or what happened)
  • Metal dog tags were confiscated, in an apparent effort to comply with the stipulation that those executing POWs "not …. leave any traces."   (source)
    traces = indications of what had happened
  • "Because I've made sure that's precisely what will occur," Wu said, finally showing a trace of irritation.   (source)
    trace = indication or sign
  • His father put the book aside and looked at Roy fondly, though with a trace of sadness. "Roy, they own the property. They can do pretty much whatever they please."   (source)
    trace = slight indication (a small amount showing)
  • It melted, leaving no trace of a murder weapon.   (source)
    trace = indication or sign
  • With no hint of mockery, no trace of a lie in his voice.   (source)
  • There was no trace of her at all, or of Tuck or Miles or Jesse.   (source)
    trace = sign or indication
  • There was no trace of the young man who'd once knelt so deferentially on the ice to lace up her skates, or of the young woman who'd sweetly accepted this homage.   (source)
    trace = tiny amount (any indication)
  • Without a trace of doubt.   (source)
    trace = indication or sign
  • "The code?" Frypan repeated, his voice lighting up with a trace of hope.   (source)
    trace = small sign or indication
  • "Next year, every trace of your existence here will be removed from the island," Edwin said.   (source)
    trace = slight indication or sign
  • There wasn't a trace of sarcasm.   (source)
    trace = any indication
  • All traces of cheer had left the Happy Medium's face.   (source)
    traces = indications or signs
  • September had come, but not a trace of cool weather with it, and we were still sleeping on the back screen porch.   (source)
    trace = slight indication or sign
  • With unthinking sureness I moved out on the limb and jumped into the river, every trace of my fear of this forgotten.   (source)
    trace = tiny amount
  • There hasn't been the trace of a ship.   (source)
    trace = any indication
  • Not a trace of the gold nib was left.   (source)
    trace = tiny amount
  • The car he'd stolen had been found deserted on a side street in Louisville last night, but there had been no trace of Paul.   (source)
    trace = indication or sign
  • Or maybe, by some off chance, there was still a trace of Jeremy Pratt left in this body.   (source)
    trace = small quantity
  • How could you make appeal to the future when not a trace of you, not even an anonymous word scribbled on a piece of paper, could physically survive?   (source)
    trace = indication or sign
  • There was no trace of the missing physician.   (source)
  • No trace of a keyhole was there left on the inside.   (source)
    trace = indication
  • Of that imagined stoicism, that theoretical courage, not a trace was left.   (source)
    trace = small quantity
  • Anne, methinks I see the traces of tears.   (source)
    traces = indications or small quantities
  • A trace of anger was in the general's black eyes, but it was there for but a second, and he said, in his most pleasant manner: "Dear me, what a righteous young man you are! I assure you I do not do the thing you suggest."   (source)
    trace = indication or sign
  • The pool itself, muddy and discolored from the sluice boxes, effectually hid what it contained, and it contained John Thornton; for Buck followed his trace into the water, from which no trace led away.   (source)
    trace = scent (indication that could be followed)
  • I could find no trace of them anywhere.   (source)
    trace = indication
  • There were traces about it of gold embroidery, which, however, was greatly frayed and defaced, so that none, or very little, of the glitter was left.   (source)
    traces = small indications (that something had been present)
  • In a thousand spots the traces of the winter avalanche may be perceived, where trees lie broken and strewed on the ground, some entirely destroyed, others bent, leaning upon the jutting rocks of the mountain or transversely upon other trees.   (source)
    traces = indications or signs
  • And there is only a microtrace of pulp in container juice.†   (source)
  • The sky was now tinged with the faintest trace of pink.   (source)
    trace = small quantity or indication
  • Traces of bread crumbs were in the creases of his overalls.   (source)
    traces = small bits
  • I found a paper bag in the attic stapled at the top. Inside it I found the last traces of my mother.   (source)
    traces = indications
  • Well, I did have just a trace of doubt, that was because you talked so crazy here.   (source)
    trace = tiny amount
  • No trace of the young man was ever found.   (source)
    trace = small quantity or indication
  • Glumly he checked for footprints and found not one. Mullet Fingers had fled without a trace.   (source)
    trace = leaving any indication that he had been there
  • [The arrows] bear no trace of the noxious green slime that came from Glimmer's body—   (source)
    trace = small quantity or indication
  • The lab also detected trace quantities of the gamma-amino metbionine hydrolase.   (source)
    trace = slight
  • A wave of heated air trembled above the ashes but without a trace of smoke.   (source)
    trace = tiny amount (any indication)
  • The only trace of the men was found years afterward.   (source)
    trace = indication
  • Miss Goreham had been doomed to a life of single blessedness, said Reenie with a trace of contempt.   (source)
    trace = slight indication
  • For a moment her heart lifted with a trace of Mercy's excitement.   (source)
    trace = small quantity
  • Ron looked toward him, and Harry thought he saw a trace of scarlet in his eyes.   (source)
    trace = small quantity or indication
  • Covering her footprints; leaving no trace.   (source)
    trace = indication that she was ever there
  • The horizon stretched, impersonal once more, barren of all but the faintest trace of smoke.   (source)
    trace = slight indication
  • The trace of blown cloud in the brilliant sky, like ice cream smudged on chrome.   (source)
    trace = small amount
  • Many weeks passed, and the military's search yielded no trace of Louie, his crew, or his plane.   (source)
    trace = indication or sign
  • He sits there, uncomplaining, while I wash away all the traces of dirt from his hair and skin.   (source)
    traces = small bits
  • The last trace of steam evaporated in the autumn air.   (source)
    trace = small quantity or indication
  • But there was no trace of fear in those fawnlike eyes as Hannah held out the stick.   (source)
    trace = indication or sign
  • All that time without a trace and now a letter.   (source)
    trace = sign or indication
  • There was the faintest trace of longing in his voice as he looked at the Elder Wand.   (source)
    trace = small quantity or indication
  • They looked high and low for it, all over the room, and never found a trace.   (source)
    trace = indication or sign
  • His men searched for hours but found no trace of him.   (source)
  • But there was nothing but traces of cinder clinging to onionskin.   (source)
    traces = small bits
  • The crew had searched for Corpening's plane all day but had seen no trace of it.   (source)
    trace = indication or sign
  • Every trace of pride and haughtiness was wiped from her face.   (source)
  • Harry could not see a trace of Malfoy, Crabbe, or Goyle anywhere.   (source)
    trace = small quantity or indication
  • Nobody's ever found a trace of it, have they?   (source)
  • The first traces of dawn had crept up on them, and Thomas could see every detail of Newt's face, his skin tight, his brow creased.   (source)
    traces = indications or small quantities
  • There was hardly a trace he'd ever lived in the house, except one: every night, after dinner, I would close the door to my room and pull Tyler's old boom box from under my bed.   (source)
    trace = indication
  • The Spirit Bear never once slowed or looked back. Cole fought back his tears until the last trace of white faded into the thick underbrush,   (source)
    trace = sight (indication)
  • There's not a trace of my jealousy left now; I still feel hurt when Father's nerves cause him to be unreasonable toward me, but then I think, "I can't blame you for being the way you are."   (source)
    trace = small quantity or indication
  • For my birthday last year, I had a black and white party. Any trace of color, and you weren't even allowed in the door.   (source)
    trace = tiny amount
  • We saw no trace of Tim Johnson.   (source)
    trace = indication
  • "Then congratulations, you are already halfway to being a man," he said with no trace of humor, no irony, the compliment of the casually arrogant.   (source)
    trace = indication or sign
  • I've pored over grainy sepia pictures of long-dead relatives... and not once have I been able to detect even the slightest trace of August's face in their faces.   (source)
  • As they moved through the grayness Meg caught an occasional glimpse of slaglike rocks, but there were no traces of trees or bushes, nothing but flat ground under their feet, no sign of any vegetation at all.   (source)
    traces = indications or signs
  • Harry sat on his four-poster and flicked through the blank pages, not one of which had a trace of scarlet ink on it.   (source)
    trace = small quantity or indication
  • Farther down stream, beyond the bluff, were traces of an old cotton landing, where Finch Negroes had loaded bales and produce, unloaded blocks of ice, flour and sugar, farm equipment, and feminine apparel.   (source)
    traces = indications
  • That night, Newt and Alby gathered every last Glader at the East Door about a half hour before it closed, the first traces of twilight's dimness creeping across the sky.   (source)
    traces = indications or small quantities
  • Mother never told us that her family had opposed the engagement but we knew. There were traces the decades hadn't erased.   (source)
    traces = indications
  • There was something arresting about the youngster's eyes. Dark and emotive, they suggested a trace of exotic blood in his heritage, Greek, maybe, or Chippewa, and conveyed a vulnerability that made Westerberg want to take the kid under his wing.   (source)
    trace = small quantity or indication
  • When Curly told his wife of his overnight guard duties, she received the news with no trace of annoyance or concern.   (source)
    trace = indication (sign)
  • This is the last thing I remember with perfect crispness—her breath floating down to me like a tiny parachute, collapsing without a trace among the piles of shoes.   (source)
    trace = indication or sign
  • "I've been watching you from my window," he said in his hooting voice with a rare trace of personal interest.   (source)
    trace = slight indication or sign
  • Above her, the sky was completing its routine of darkening, but far away, over the mountain's shoulder, there was a dull trace of light.   (source)
    trace = small quantity
  • There wasn't the faintest trace of writing on any of them, not even Auntie Mabel's birthday, or dentist, half-past three.   (source)
    trace = small quantity or indication
  • "There—" Before the others could examine the drop of blood, Jack had swerved off, judging a trace, touching a bough that gave.   (source)
    trace = slight indication
  • You should have knocked, she thought, and although there was a good portion of guilt, there was also the juvenile trace of laughter.   (source)
    trace = slight indication or sign
  • His own body will shrivel up like a grape, his dry, wrinkled skin will turn to mist, and in the morning not a trace of him will be left.   (source)
    trace = small quantity or indication
  • Conclusive spectrographic analysis has yet to be completed, but preliminary testing by Clausen and one of his graduate students, Edward Treadwell, indicates that the seeds definitely contains traces of an alkaloid.   (source)
    traces = indications or small quantities
  • The tone of his words fell dead center, without a trace of friendliness or unfriendliness, not interested and not bored, not energetic and not languid.   (source)
    trace = slight indication or sign
  • The French hotel had a bidet, which Richard explained to me with the trace of a smirk after he caught me washing my feet in it.   (source)
    trace = slight indication
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trace as in:  trace the origin or development

show 10 more with this conextual meaning
  • They traced the illnesses back to a single restaurant.
    traced = followed (to its source through investigation)
  • The book traces the development of the smartphones.
    traces = reports research findings
  • She traced the student's progress.
    traced = tracked the development of
  • She used a pre-paid phone that is untraceable.
    untraceable = not able to track or discover who owned it
    standard prefix: The prefix "un-" in untraceable means not and reverses the meaning of traceable. This is the same pattern you see in words like unhappy, unknown, and unlucky.
  • He swam to shore, landing on the Outer Banks, found a wife, and fathered thirteen children. Many could trace their roots back to that one Mr. Walker, but Scupper and Tate stayed mostly to themselves.   (source)
    trace = find through investigation
  • But that doesn't prevent me from feeling the sharp stab of pain as the needle inserts the metal tracking device deep under the skin on the inside of my forearm. Now the Gamemakers will always be able to trace my whereabouts in the arena.   (source)
    trace = find or follow
  • I traced the string to a kid standing about thirty yards from us.   (source)
    traced = followed (to find the origin)
  • This was the fastest and most secure type of Internet connection available, and since it wasn't provided by KM or one of its subsidiaries, I wouldn't have to be paranoid about them monitoring my connection or trying to trace my location.   (source)
    trace = track the connection to
  • "I might tell you that you can trace my family back through nine generations of witches and warlocks and my blood's as pure as anyone's, so —"   (source)
    trace = find something through investigation
  • That way, he explained, he burned up the brand name, and if the people who were tracking us looked in his ashtray, they'd find unidentifiable butts instead of Pall Malls that could be traced to him.   (source)
    traced = investigated to track back
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show 88 more with this conextual meaning
  • By and by the rangers traced the car's serial number to the Hertz Corporation, the vehicle's original owner; Hertz said they had sold it as a used rental car many years earlier and had no interest in reclaiming it.   (source)
    traced = researched (to find where it came from)
  • Research in molecular genetics had become a vast, multibillion dollar commercial undertaking, and its origins can be traced not to 1953 but to April 1976.   (source)
    traced = found through investigation
  • In typical cases of juvenile vandalism, the crimes could be traced to a group of youngsters, each trying to outdo the other for thrills.   (source)
    traced = followed through investigation
  • So when the government traces me.   (source)
    traces = investigates leads to find
  • I was informed of the accident by a policeman: the car was mine, and they'd traced the licence.   (source)
    traced = researched (to find where it came from)
  • They can't trace that stuff if you just use public Wi-Fi.   (source)
    trace = find through investigation
  • He says as far as he can trace back the Finches we ain't, but for all he knows we mighta come straight out of Ethiopia durin' the Old Testament.   (source)
    trace = search (through investigation)
  • He found the audio-capsule, he heard your voice, he was going to trace it.   (source)
    trace = find out where it came from
  • But to trace out the history of the whole period, to say who was fighting whom at any given moment, would have been utterly impossible, since no written record, and no spoken word, ever made mention of any other alignment than the existing one.   (source)
    trace = find
  • He didn't say any more, but it was easy enough for me to trace back the story and reconstruct it.   (source)
    trace = find through investigation
  • It's pretty certain they'll trace your car.   (source)
  • Even so zealous a hunter as General Zaroff could not trace him there, he told himself; only the devil himself could follow that complicated trail through the jungle after dark.   (source)
    trace = follow
  • If there be anything behind this instinct it will be valuable to trace it afterwards accurately, so I...   (source)
    trace = follow (by research)
  • ...he began to think that the source and secret of this ghostly light might be in the adjoining room, from whence, on further tracing it, it seemed to shine.   (source)
    tracing = investigation
  • They cannot be traced.   (source)
    traced = found through investigation
  • We'll trace this and drop it in on your friend.   (source)
    trace = find out where the communication is coming from
  • None of the boys could have found good reason for this; what intelligence had been shown was traceable to Piggy while the most obvious leader was Jack.   (source)
    traceable = able to be followed (to its source)
    standard suffix: The suffix "-able" means able to be. This is the same pattern you see in words like breakable, understandable, and comfortable.
  • Haven't been able to trace any record of an illegal operation or anything of that kind.   (source)
    trace = find through investigation
  • Almost immediately the footprints of a pig were discovered in the grass at a little distance from the knoll. They could only be traced for a few yards, but appeared to lead to a hole in the hedge.   (source)
    traced = found, sought, or researched
  • We could trace it through the drifted snow.   (source)
    trace = find, search, or research
  • It was now my object to trace that horrid cargo of the Count's to its place in London.   (source)
  • Only ten days ago a wolf got out, and was, I believe, traced up in this direction.   (source)
    traced = found, sought, or researched
  • …and so, with the usual beginnings, hardly to be traced as to what came first,   (source)
    traced = found through investigation
  • His movements — he was on foot all the time — were afterward traced to Port Roosevelt and then to Gad's Hill, where he bought a sandwich that he didn't eat, and a cup of coffee.   (source)
    traced = followed through investigation
  • We now know of twenty-one boxes having been removed, and if it be that several were taken in any of these removals we may be able to trace them all.   (source)
    trace = find, search, or research
  • The Professor has a strongly humorous side, and I could from old knowledge detect a trace of its origin in his answer.   (source)
  • Then I caught the patient's eye and followed it, but could trace nothing as it looked into the moonlight sky, except a big bat, which was flapping its silent and ghostly way to the west.   (source)
  • If the latter, we must trace ….   (source)
  • We must trace each of these boxes, and when we are ready, we must either capture or kill this monster in his lair, or we must, so to speak, sterilize the earth, so that no more he can seek safety in it.   (source)
  • It was begun after you had left, and was an imitation of you, and in that diary she traces by inference certain things to a sleep-walking in which she puts down that you saved her.   (source)
    traces = finds, searches, or researches
  • Both were kissed very tenderly, but Tom she wanted to keep by her, to try to trace the features of the baby she had loved, and talked to, of his infant preference of herself.   (source)
    trace = find
  • It fit the requirements of authenticity, traceability.†   (source)
  • It was pure imagination, probably traceable in the beginning to lies circulated by Snowball.   (source)
    traceable = able to be followed (to its source through investigation)
  • I even traced the pattern of stimulus-and-reaction that caused my nervousness and excitement.   (source)
    traced = researched
  • To see her and trace back to learn what I was?   (source)
    trace = find through investigation
  • Emmett was swinging an aluminum bat; it whistled almost untraceably through the air.†   (source)
    standard prefix: The prefix "un-" in untraceably means not and reverses the meaning of traceably. This is the same pattern you see in words like unhappy, unknown, and unlucky.
  • His voice was low, emotions untraceable.†   (source)
  • This phone had served Mal'akh well ....but now it was time it became untraceable.†   (source)
  • The vast fortune belonging to Zachary Solomon had all been moved to an untraceable numbered account.†   (source)
  • It's like this document is on a server that is untraceable.†   (source)
  • Sims said the shootings came a few years after the home run but were directly traceable.†   (source)
  • He'll know it anyway from the operator, but the call won't be traceable to this hotel.†   (source)
  • Everything untraceable, the slate clean.†   (source)
  • He planted a weapon, made sure it was traceable.†   (source)
  • Hiring killers is too traceable, the transferring of money too traceable.†   (source)
  • You, yourself, made sure it was untraceable.†   (source)
  • The assassin was the untraceable link to Sheng.†   (source)
  • I want nothing traceable, even with Four Zero security.†   (source)
  • For putting me back together he was to receive a fifth of Zurich, untraceable to him.†   (source)
  • The routings are convoluted to the point of being untraceable.†   (source)
  • a million and a half Swiss francs to Marseilles for an untraceable collection.†   (source)
  • Mock up charges-not traceable to us, of course.†   (source)
  • ...Very well, the order will be issued secretly, its origins untraceable, of course.†   (source)
  • Traceable accountability was the new order of the new regime.†   (source)
  • The source could be untraceable, but it's all I've got.†   (source)
  • Grief lined the General's face in an easily traceable fretwork.†   (source)
  • Harry felt a floating sensation as every thought and worry in his head was wiped gently away, leaving nothing but a vague, untraceable happiness.†   (source)
  • Chiron said cell phones were traceable by monsters; if we used one, it would be worse than sending up a flare.†   (source)
  • Vicars and curates, with the occasional bookseller thrown in for variety, and only traceable back to 1762 or so.†   (source)
  • We were going to do a phone, a doctored phone, but none of us were nerd enough to be sure we did it totally untraceable.†   (source)
  • The cardinals exchanged uneasy looks, and finally one said, "Yes, but these bonds are traceable directly to the Vatican Bank."†   (source)
  • And because Itex is a world-class, top-secret, paranoid techfest, the linkup has constantly changing codes and passkeys-its signal is completely untraceable.†   (source)
  • Untraceable.†   (source)
  • A pay phone, nothing traceable!†   (source)
  • Yes, on the other hand, who is to say that the arrangement of the stars is more easily traceable to nature, than to nature's molder?†   (source)
  • And it is this generous giving—the seemingly unlimited supply of cash that Wahhabi operatives smuggle into Pakistan, both in suitcases and through the untraceable hawala money-transfer system—that has shaped their image among Pakistan's population.†   (source)
  • You let my daughter go off ....with Jace ....to some unfindable, untraceable place where none of us can reach her?†   (source)
  • No. Fortier had first recruited Svensson fifteen years ago to conduct a much simpler operation: untraceable arms deals with several interested nations, which involved biological weapons research in exchange for lucrative contracts.†   (source)
  • Known in international espionage circles as 'the Viper' for the deadly and untraceable venom he injected into the balls of the feet of his celebrity victims , the assassin died in a fiery Moscow helicopter crash just hours before little Patti Weaver was born in Popular Mechanics, Iowa.†   (source)
  • The man who committed these crimes would not make so foolish a mistake to leave a traceable weapon behind.†   (source)
  • Nothing traceable.†   (source)
  • Michael put it: Well, if you and Rosalind are quite satisfied that there's been nothing to start suspicion in your district, then I don't see that it can be traceable to anybody but that man in the forest.'†   (source)
  • This is an untraceable Hotmail address.†   (source)
  • His home phone, he knew, would leave a traceable record, but he had to hear her voice tonight, even if it was only on the machine.†   (source)
  • Momma, always self-conscious at public displays of emotions not traceable to a religious source, told me to come with her and we'd bring the bread and bowls.†   (source)
  • When he touched down at a disused airbase outside Jalalabad, with attaché cases crammed with untraceable hundred-dollar bills, and a retinue of fighters, seasoned, as he was, by prior campaigns in Afghanistan to fight the Soviets, Osama Bin Laden was reportedly in a foul mood.†   (source)
  • For some elusive reason images of Paris came to him, then the blurred outlines of telephone booths as he and Marie raced from one to another through the blinding Paris streets, making blind, untraceable calls, hoping to unravel the enigma that was Jason Bourne.†   (source)
  • No traceable source.†   (source)
  • Good Christ, I paid fifteen thousand dollars to make certain everything was silent, absolutely untraceable-not that the money matters, of course—†   (source)
  • He's got firepower, an untraceable network of gunslingers and couriers, and for every crevice he can crawl into and burst out from, there are dozens more available to him.†   (source)
  • Arithmetically, an untraceable message.†   (source)
  • He knocked twice with the knuckles of his left hand; in his right was the untraceable automatic supplied by Alexander Conklin, the crown prince of dark operations.†   (source)
  • Casset told me later that the Agency doesn't want any traceable records of anything that takes place over there, and that's the best guarantee you can ask for.†   (source)
  • Made his own arrangements, payments funneled through third and fourth parties unknown to each other, the source untraceable, all connections to the Agency and Treadstone obliterated.†   (source)
  • Not bad for a career soldier from a lower-middle-class family in Nebraska who married a hairdresser in Hawaii thirty years ago, and supposedly bought his manse ten years ago on the strength of a very sizable inheritance from an untraceable benefactor, an obscure wealthy uncle I couldn't find.†   (source)
  • Naturally it is untraceable.†   (source)
  • Standing not for the agency you think, but for a clandestine Mexican outfit known as the Conjuracion de los Insurgentes Anarquistas, traceable back to the time of the Flores Magon brothers and later briefly allied with Zapata.†   (source)
  • Any failure traceable to arrogance, or our lack of comprehension or readiness to sacrifice would inflict upon us grievous hurt both at home and abroad.†   (source)
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trace as in:  trace a picture or outline

show 10 more with this conextual meaning
  • She used a stick to trace a mysterious symbol on the sand.
    trace = draw
  • She used a projector and a pencil to trace an image of an eagle on the paper and then filled in the painting with water colors.
    trace = draw (by following the image)
  • After they discussed the list, Mabel traced Kya's feet on a piece of brown paper bag, then said, "Well, come back tomorrer and there'll be a stack here for ya."   (source)
    traced = drew an outline of
  • My fingers trace the circle around the little gold mockingjay and I think of the woods, and of my father, and of my mother and Prim waking up, having to get on with things.   (source)
    trace = follow along the outline of
  • He pulled Harry's wand from his pocket and began to trace it through the air, writing three shimmering words: TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE Then he waved the wand once, and the letters of his name rearranged themselves: I AM LORD VOLDEMORT   (source)
    trace = draw specific patterns
  • Then he focused on Jesus bending down, his finger tracing words in the sand at the Pharisees' feet, sending the men scattering in fear.   (source)
    tracing = drawing
  • In his mind, he kept seeing the computer tracing of the tyrannosaur's home range, the tight squiggle of lines that traced his movements within a small area.   (source)
  • He traced out an SOS in huge letters across the firebreak but before anyone could read what he had written he wiped the letters away.   (source)
    traced = drew
  • Across the table from me, Mychal was working on a new art project—meticulously tracing the waveforms of some song onto a sheet of thin, translucent paper—while Daisy regaled our lunch table with the story of her car purchase, without ever quite revealing how she came across the necessary funds.   (source)
    tracing = drawing
  • They got to work, tracing from original Maps to wax paper, one by one, trying to keep it clean and correct while hurrying as fast as possible.   (source)
    tracing = copying
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  • He picked up a small stick and traced in the dirt.   (source)
    traced = drew
  • In the clean white sand on the floor Hannah traced a careful B. Looking at Prudence, Kit held her breath.   (source)
  • Her fingers were tracing the book's outline and as the shape became familiar her face looked surprised and then stunned.   (source)
    tracing = following along (drawing)
  • I reached out and touched it, remembering the way those brushstrokes felt. I traced them until my finger fell off the edge of the canvas. I traced them until my finger fell off the edge of the canvas.   (source)
    traced = followed (with his finger)
  • Syme had fallen silent for a moment, and with the handle of his spoon was tracing patterns in the puddle of stew.   (source)
    tracing = drawing
  • The touch of a cluster of leaves revolved it slowly, tracing, like the leg of compass, a thin red circle in the water.   (source)
    tracing = following along
  • There was a slight vibration, and then yellow contour lines traced across the computer screen.   (source)
    traced = were drawn
  • Newt had three or four Gladers help us trace the Maps.   (source)
    trace = draw
  • Cole traced the eraser of his pencil across the table.   (source)
    traced = drew
  • He saw the complete skeleton, traced in bright yellow.   (source)
    traced = drawn
  • All right, everybody trace the last ten or so days onto a piece of this stuff.   (source)
    trace = draw
  • The letter was an incredible treasure, proof that Lily Potter had lived, really lived, that her warm hand had once moved across this parchment, tracing ink into these letters, these words, words about him, Harry, her son.   (source)
    tracing = drawing
  • Boldly Prudence reached to take it in her own hand, and carefully and proudly she traced the lines herself.   (source)
    traced = drew
  • My fingers obsessively trace the hard little lump on my forearm where the woman injected the tracking device.   (source)
    trace = draw
  • She grasped the quill in tense, careful fingers, and her lips silently formed each letter as she traced the lines.   (source)
    traced = drew
  • "I think we'll start with your mouth."
    I clamp my teeth together as she teasingly traces the outline of my lips with the tip of the blade.   (source)
    traces = draws
  • Silently, they did as he asked, sorting through what they'd traced until eight low stacks of wax paper lined the table.   (source)
    traced = drew
  • But Teresa, sitting next to him, was a study in concentration, her tongue sticking out the corner of her mouth as she traced lines up and down, side to side.   (source)
  • Almost unconsciously he traced with his finger in the dust on the table: 2+2=   (source)
  • Boxer could not get beyond the letter D. He would trace out A, B, C, D, in the dust with his great hoof, and then would stand staring at the letters with his ears back, sometimes shaking his forelock, trying with all his might to remember what came next and never succeeding.   (source)
    trace = draw
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trace as in:  traced a path

show 10 more with this conextual meaning
  • She used her finger to trace a route on the map.
    trace = follow
  • A single tear traced its way down her cheek.
    traced = followed a specific path
  • His finger seems to instinctively trace the tattoo on his forearm — an A with a crown over it.   (source)
    trace = follow
  • ...I can read my journals from this period and trace the evolution—of a young girl rewriting her history.   (source)
  • Some tendrils twisted into tight spirals and traced the warmer ravines, behaving like mist tracking the dank fens of the marsh.   (source)
    traced = following
  • She puzzled over the patchwork of scraps for a long time, tracing the lines with her finger, murmuring the parts of words.   (source)
  • "Me neither," he said, his eyes tracing the bird's circular flight.   (source)
  • I pulled up a map of the town and traced a route from my current location to Halliday's childhood home.   (source)
    traced = found a route
  • The slender tops fairly flapped and swished in the passionate torrent, bending and swirling backward and forward, round and round, tracing indescribable combinations of vertical and horizontal curves, while I clung with muscles firm braced, like a bobolink on a reed.   (source)
    tracing = following
  • Louie told the story as the Japanese listened in silent fascination, tracing the journey on a map.   (source)
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  • I reached out and traced black Mary's heart with my finger.   (source)
    traced = followed
  • He was saying, "Hm" and tracing the lines of my palm with his finger.   (source)
    tracing = following the path of
  • In spirit she walks the city, traces its labyrinths, its dingy mazes: each assignation, each rendezvous, each door and stair and bed.   (source)
    traces = follows
  • She stood up and traced around its edges with her finger and began to laugh—quietly at first, but soon her shoulders were heaving and she was gasping for breath.   (source)
    traced = followed
  • I liked feeling his body against mine, one of his hands tracing my spine.   (source)
    tracing = following the path of
  • His fingers were tracing my lips.   (source)
    tracing = following the outline of
  • He wanted to reach out and trace the delicate curved bones of her ribs; he wanted to kiss her at the point the bones met, stretching away like wings.   (source)
    trace = track or follow (with his finger)
  • Even after the lights had gone up, while they were shuffling slowly along with the crowd towards the lifts, its ghost still fluttered against her lips, still traced fine shuddering roads of anxiety and pleasure across her skin.   (source)
    traced = followed
  • You could still trace the stone causeways that led up to the ruined gates where the last splinters of wood hung to the worn, rusted hinges.   (source)
    trace = follow
  • The course of the little brook might be traced by its merry gleam afar into the wood's heart of mystery, which had become a mystery of joy.   (source)
    traced = followed
  • The house fronts looked black enough, and the windows blacker, contrasting with the smooth white sheet of snow upon the roofs, and with the dirtier snow upon the ground; which last deposit had been ploughed up in deep furrows by the heavy wheels of carts and waggons; furrows that crossed and re-crossed each other hundreds of times where the great streets branched off; and made intricate channels, hard to trace in the thick yellow mud and icy water.   (source)
    trace = follow
  • When I quitted Geneva my first labour was to gain some clue by which I might trace the steps of my fiendish enemy.   (source)
    trace = track or follow
  • She can feel his ribs, trace the spaces between.   (source)
    trace = follow
  • After he left, I didn't move except to trace the bars of light on the bed with my finger.   (source)
  • I traced my fingers along the gold-colored stitching on the borders.   (source)
    traced = followed
  • A neat, sharp form, flat and shining, cut the surface and began tracing circles around the rafts.   (source)
    tracing = moving in
  • The Twin Moons, just two pale orbs as they trace their way across the steely sky.   (source)
    trace = follow a path
  • I traced the patterns carved into the perfect block of stone beneath me, not meeting his eyes.   (source)
    traced = followed
  • She stood in front of the mirror tracing the lines along her forehead and neck with her finger.   (source)
    tracing = following
  • I traced my fingers along the gold— stitched borders.   (source)
    traced = followed
  • He just held it in both hands, traced his thumb over its surface.   (source)
    traced = dragged
  • I traced the curve of each letter with my fingers.   (source)
    traced = followed
  • David traced the light-filled image with his fingertips.   (source)
  • Paul traced his finger along the edge of the cast.   (source)
  • Phoebe traced her fingers over the names and dates engraved in the dark granite.   (source)
  • Veins, pale blue, traced just below the surface of her skin.   (source)
  • Momma traces the rim of her mug.   (source)
    traces = follows
  • Softly, he began to talk of his life with Pete, tracing the paths they had taken since pneumonia had brought them to California in 1919.   (source)
    tracing = following
  • On the morning of September 2, a B-29 known as Ghost Ship traced the long thread of beach marking the coast of western Japan.   (source)
    traced = followed
  • As the castaways slumped in the rafts, trying to accept another lost chance, over the western horizon there was a glimmer, tracing a wide curve, then banking toward the rafts.   (source)
    tracing = moving in
  • My hair was receding and streaked with gray, and lately I'd traced little crow's-feet etched around the corners of my eyes.   (source)
    traced = followed
  • The three spent most of their outdoor time together, sitting on benches or tracing the edges of the compound, distracting one another from the tooth-chattering cold with mind exercises.   (source)
    tracing = following the path of
  • The finger then floats to Hassan's face and makes a dry, scratchy sound as it slowly traces the curve of his cheeks, the outline of his ears.   (source)
    traces = follows
  • I lay in the dark the night Rahim Khan called and traced with my eyes the parallel silver lines on the wall made by moonlight pouring through the blinds.   (source)
    traced = followed
  • Then Sam had traced the shaft of variegated light on her thigh with his finger, and slowly she'd felt her own sharp edges begin to soften, to blur, her emotions bleeding one into another in mysterious sequence, from darkest indigo to gold, reluctance transforming, mysteriously, to desire.   (source)
  • The spirit of elder days found a dwelling here, and we delighted to trace its footsteps.   (source)
    trace = follow
  • Thus far I have gone, tracing a secure way over the pathless seas, the very stars themselves being witnesses and testimonies of my triumph.   (source)
    tracing = following
  • I carefully traced the windings of the land and hailed a steeple which I at length saw issuing from behind a small promontory.   (source)
    traced = followed
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show 10 more examples with any meaning
  • Their coats were chestnut and black and their tails swept down to trace the extension of their hind legs.†   (source)
  • But there's still a trace of laughter in his eyes, so I turn my head away from him.†   (source)
  • The giant stands on this sheet of paper, and we can only see the trace where its feet touch the paper.†   (source)
  • They traced command and control back to office buildings in China.†   (source)
  • What a marvel it had been to discover the table that folded away without a trace; and the drawers built into the base of the bed; and the wall-mounted lamps just large enough to illuminate a page.†   (source)
  • Lale traces a finger over his numbers.†   (source)
  • Her shoulder-length hair was still a shimmering deep brown, just a few traces grayer than it used to be.†   (source)
  • Small traces of blood were found in the car and near the scene of the wreck, but there were no other signs of the missing Jacksons.†   (source)
  • Levy said with his distinctive Baltimore drawl: a trace of a southern twang with words contracted and vowels swallowed.†   (source)
  • The voice that answered had an Indian lilt to its Canadian accent, light but unmistakable, like a trace of incense in the air.†   (source)
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show 190 more examples with any meaning
  • I have discovered, deep in the hearts of many condemned and incarcerated people, the scattered traces of hope and humanity—seeds of restoration that come to astonishing life when nurtured by very simple interventions.†   (source)
  • He traced gently around the lids.†   (source)
  • I lifted my hand to his face and let it trace his beautiful bones.†   (source)
  • They had been disgraced by her birth, and this was their chance to erase, once and for all, the last trace of their husband's scandalous mistake.†   (source)
  • I smelled the cloth, but found no trace of Mother.†   (source)
  • Quickly checking the bathroom, the chairs, and the luggage areas, the inspector found no traces of anyone hiding...much less multiple individuals.†   (source)
  • I can feel her calm down, and she'll trace her fingers along my cheek, just like she does in the morning, and give me a kiss good night.†   (source)
  • Fact was, it was too easy ter trace.†   (source)
  • Traces of the burning pepper seemed stuck in her lungs, like the embers of a fire that wouldn't go out.†   (source)
  • The boy traced the route to the sea with his finger.†   (source)
  • So we can't trace gun ownership back to the murderer.†   (source)
  • Huge yellow bulldozers shoved brush back from a rough road that had been traced out with gravel.†   (source)
  • Below the window, on one of the bastioned traces on the seaward side of the hotel, waits the big 88.†   (source)
  • They remembered Count Olaf saying he had a map of the city, and they looked thoroughly for it, but they couldn't find any trace of a map, and decided it must be in the tower, where they were forbidden to go.†   (source)
  • Silas said, "We have both left too many tracks and traces in the last few weeks.†   (source)
  • Finally, when every last trace of dusk had gone, full darkness settled on the land like a black fog.†   (source)
  • I'm told enough of the original trees survive that you can still trace the monogram, if you put your mind to it.†   (source)
  • Yet these emotions, the Review must stress, should not include a blind, hysterical hatred of all persons who trace their ancestry to fa pan.†   (source)
  • So they started mapping the genomes of Icelanders, every single person, and were able to trace all kinds of diseases to their origins.†   (source)
  • Tino was staring at him with reverence, with no trace of the hard-guy face he usually carries around.†   (source)
  • I think we half expected to see traces of red still clinging to her face.†   (source)
  • I ran water down the sink until I was sure the diluted traces of juice had gone into the septic tank.†   (source)
  • First she looked at technical websites, searching for answers on how to trace IMs.†   (source)
  • He had blood results come back from the lab as a match for a break-in at a jewelry store, and a suppression hearing in superior court, and already on his desk was the first new complaint of the day-a theft of wallets in which the credit cards had been used, leaving a trail for Patrick to trace.†   (source)
  • I hear from Dan that he's a whale of a preacher, and that there's not a trace of the slight stutter that once marred his speech.†   (source)
  • All traces of the Shinalator's miracle are gone.†   (source)
  • She wanted to touch him, to trace the line between his tan skin and the golden lining of the fabric.†   (source)
  • He traces his fingers along my cheek and runs them through my hair, bringing his lips closer to mine.†   (source)
  • It was the same bog and the same path and the same everything as before, but for the first time since my arrival it was bathed in cheery yellow sunlight, the sky a candy blue, no trace of the twisting fog that, for me, had come to define this part of the island.†   (source)
  • When the wind set the leaves to rustling, it was like a chilly finger tracing a path up Jon's spine.†   (source)
  • —raises her head and the trace of a smile plays on her lips.†   (source)
  • She opened the dark curtains and the windows; she curled once more in the rocker, trying to relax; she traced their route in her mind.†   (source)
  • I gently trace the outline of her cheek, then take her hand in mine.†   (source)
  • Our feet trace a rough box, and I try not to think about his closeness, or the calluses of his hands.†   (source)
  • We traced our fingers over the patterns of the ornamental wood railings and poked our faces through openings to see the water below.†   (source)
  • All of this had been spoken softly, without the least trace of excitement or drama in Milligan's voice.†   (source)
  • I could see traces of tears that she had tried wiping away.†   (source)
  • I can't see it in the dark but I trace the tiny scratched writing with the ends of my fingers, as if it's a code in Braille.†   (source)
  • Kate traced the line with her finger until she came to a circular tap.†   (source)
  • June, you can easily delete all traces of this blog at any time by pressing your right palm against the screen and typing: Ctrl+Shift+S+F.†   (source)
  • Food missing from other students' lunches was traced to this thin, sad boy.†   (source)
  • She took her hand from the phone and massaged her forehead—no trace of the beast migraine, and thank God for that—and went toward the drawing room.†   (source)
  • Full well the boding tremblers learned to trace The day's disaster in his morning face.†   (source)
  • I began with that field and tried to trace the corn as it traveled across the country, first to my supermarket and then to my stomach.†   (source)
  • There was no trace of the dealers, the police, or the crowds of people who had gathered to watch the excitement.†   (source)
  • How she would have liked her mother to have seen it; how she would have liked to see her, even if only to be told with a look that she needed to wipe the traces of chocolate from her lips with her napkin.†   (source)
  • I thought the cops might trace it somehow, but not soon enough.†   (source)
  • He lowered his chin and stared at the traces as though he would force them to speak to him.†   (source)
  • There was a trace of a grin on Du Hai's face.†   (source)
  • After leaving Hal's bike shop, being careful to cover any trace that they had ever been there, Ray and Ruth drove in silence back to Ray's house.†   (source)
  • She followed them with her eyes, tilting her head to trace the path from hoses to pulleys to axles, trying to decipher how it all fit together.†   (source)
  • They were both men whom childhood had abandoned without a trace.†   (source)
  • Picking at the quilt, running his fingers over the stitching, tracing the borders of the patches like he's tracing the path on a treasure map.†   (source)
  • With a sharp-edged stone he scraped away every trace of fat and flesh from the skin, washed it in the creek, and for days, in his spare hours, rubbed and stretched it to make it soft and pliable.†   (source)
  • Slowly, he lowered me to the mattress of pillows, holding on to me, tracing curves as he kissed me on and on.†   (source)
  • And when Max went to her house the next day, there was no trace of her.†   (source)
  • When she stopped before me, I traced the outline of her neck with my fingers.†   (source)
  • He pulled one of his arms out from under her and traced her outline against the couch.†   (source)
  • I think I can trace the sequence of events here.†   (source)
  • Occasionally, when someone noticed a trace of an accent and asked me where I came from, I would reply vaguely, "From the east."†   (source)
  • HERMIONE: Yes, Draco, Voldemort is dead, but these things all lead us to think that there is a possibility that Voldemort—or some trace of Voldemort—might be back.†   (source)
  • If you trace it back, you can see the mistake the point where you would have had a different outcome.†   (source)
  • We'll be nothing more than ghosts, traces, memories—and soon, as the cureds keep their eyes firmly focused on the future, and the long procession of days to march through—we won't even be that.†   (source)
  • I ran my hands up and down the length of his torso, focusing on the sinews in his muscles, assigning each one a string—A, G, C, D. I traced them down, one at a time, with the tip of my fingers.†   (source)
  • A simple lie to keep from being traced.†   (source)
  • Every trace of that deer's gone now.†   (source)
  • When she looked up with a start, I could see her face was flushed, but there were no traces of tears.†   (source)
  • I'd signed away permission to trace credit cards and ATMs and track Amy's cell phone, I'd handed over Go's cell number and the name of Sue, the widow at The Bar, who could presumably attest to the time I arrived.†   (source)
  • A line of blood traced down the Shade's arm.†   (source)
  • It was fierce, mocking talk, with only a trace of envy or awe, but even so the image played itself out behind their eyes.†   (source)
  • And how could they trace you?†   (source)
  • Meggie couldn't see a trace of fear in his eyes, just incredulous curiosity and satisfaction — with himself.†   (source)
  • Frankie pressed her finger on my eyelids and a drop traced down my cheek.†   (source)
  • It explained why they had found no trace of Missy.†   (source)
  • By and by all trace is gone, and what is forgotten is not only the footprints but the water too and what it is down there.†   (source)
  • The trace pellet I'd dissolved in Johnny's second German beer had had more than enough time to work.†   (source)
  • They can trace phone calls, Hannah.†   (source)
  • His fingers move slowly up my back, tracing my spine.†   (source)
  • Marley stood there panting contentedly, not a trace of concern on his face, and then he lay down and let out a sigh.†   (source)
  • The red light traced faint lines across his body, across his back and arms.†   (source)
  • It was about the size of a baby's finger, but hard and smooth as stone, so that it left no trace of color on my skin.†   (source)
  • The wall under which the corpses lay showed clear traces of bloodstains and brain tissue.†   (source)
  • If the statements are traced to me, he'll be shot.†   (source)
  • It was raining, washing all traces of the snow away in clear, icy ribbons down the side of the walkway.†   (source)
  • When her parents came to the city, he'd disappear to a hotel, removing all traces of himself from the apartment.†   (source)
  • No sign of Rabbi Shilsky, whom I traced to a Brooklyn address in the 1960s, where he apparently landed after wandering through Norfolk, Virginia; Belleville, New Jersey; and Manhattan.†   (source)
  • What we have to work with is hints and allegations, really, evidence, sometimes only a trace, that points to something lying behind the text.†   (source)
  • I see traces of anger, compassion, guilt and helplessness.†   (source)
  • She traced the patterns with her finger, and slowly her eyes filled with tears.†   (source)
  • I saw no trace of them, but even the herders who lived their lives following the bov couldn't always tell when one was near.†   (source)
  • And believe me, you don't want to find out what's laughing, she said, and added, without a trace of irony, Sleep tight.†   (source)
  • If you get lost, immediately trace your steps backward.†   (source)
  • He sensed vulnerability, sensed it the way another man might capture the trace of a woman's perfume.†   (source)
  • His voice reminded me a little of Willem's, deep, cultivated, the German with only a trace of Dutch accent.†   (source)
  • His personal trailer had no visible family photos or knickknacks; at a moment's notice he could leave without a trace.†   (source)
  • It has the nutritional value of a brown paper bag, with the added bonus of trace amounts of cyanide.†   (source)
  • He said he didn't care if The Little School stirred any excitement when Phyllis showed it around, didn't care if it sank without a trace, and Wendy believed that, too.†   (source)
  • Nadia frequently explored the terrain of social media, though she left little trace of her passing, not posting much herself, and employing opaque usernames and avatars, the online equivalents of her black robes.†   (source)
  • And from a historical perspective, as briefly mentioned earlier, SEALs trace their origins to the Navy's Underwater Demolition Teams, or UDTs.†   (source)
  • An archeologist searches for traces of the distant past by digging through layers of cultural history.†   (source)
  • Most recently, in July 2009, parents in Minnesota and Texas sued to stop the nationwide practice of storing and conducting research—without consent—on fetal blood samples, many of which can be traced back to the infants they came from.†   (source)
  • The vampire kiss had left no visible trace except the wound, no inalterable change on the pale pink flesh.†   (source)
  • A thoughtful-looking fair man in military dress, his eyes bore the telltale traces of laugh lines at the corners.†   (source)
  • I still have the trace of an argument in my head-I may have physical evidence of it on my scalp and lip.†   (source)
  • Ohio State still took him, and he even played a year—then got into trouble at school and vanished without a trace.†   (source)
  • "Finished with the engines," Ramius said in Russian to the crew in the maneuvering room, then switched to English with a trace of sadness in his voice.†   (source)
  • But of course now it was simple to trace back and find so many places each of us could have done better.†   (source)
  • That night, when the cabbage dish was served, we could actually see the traces of precious oil floating in the sauce!†   (source)
  • At first, the only trace that B-782 leaves of his passage is a dancing trail of sparks down the center of the franchise ghetto.†   (source)
  • Pedro Segundo Garcia took the keys, tucked the ledgers under his arm, and smiled without a trace of happiness.†   (source)
  • These mountain men were unbelievably difficult to trace, but even they need to rest, eat and drink, and perhaps even wash, and they need village communities to do all of that.†   (source)
  • THE ZIATYS' STORY, as well as any, shows the extent to which modern refugees can trace their displacement to the mistakes, greed, fears, crimes, and foibles of men who long preceded them, sometimes by decades—or longer.†   (source)
  • Lost in the crowd, of course, was Florentino Ariza, who recognized the traces of terror on Fermina Daza's face.†   (source)
  • And though we listened for a trace of jealousy in her voice, we didn't hear one.†   (source)
  • She kept on paging through old documents, looking for any trace of Gottfried Vanger in Kalmar in 1954.†   (source)
  • "And he needs help," she said, tracing the very simple steps for us to hear.†   (source)
  • He rubs his thumb across mine, tracing a path from knuckle to wrist.†   (source)
  • The letters the Getty's lawyers used to carefully trace the kouros back to the Swiss physician Lauffenberger, for instance, turned out to be fakes.†   (source)
  • That shadow would marry this shadow, and the peculiar, yellowish soil of our locality seal the wound in the whiteness, and yet another snowfall erase the traces of newness in Joan's grave.†   (source)
  • Is there a trace of challenge in Xander's voice?†   (source)
  • And she noted that the walls of the meter trough held no trace of moisture after the water's passage.†   (source)
  • With my finger, I traced a zero around the barrel hole, feeling the cold dead steel and imagining a bullet, tiny as a sliver, racing up my arm and zinging into my brain.†   (source)
  • He was a cloud of cigar smoke, the traces of which could still be found on the uniforms he'd left behind.†   (source)
  • I was fairly certain I'd guessed the right amount, since there wasn't a trace of her freckles in sight.†   (source)
  • The kids know I've come from somewhere else, but as time passes, and with careful effort, I lose any trace of an accent.†   (source)
  • With the sharp end of the scalpel, Felix lightly traced his own clown-faced grimace.†   (source)
  • I searched the entire western half of the Col for more than an hour, peering behind boulders and poking under shredded, long-abandoned tents, but found no trace of Harris.†   (source)
  • Dora wants to know if I traced the cats.†   (source)
  • Mr. Bykovski had a trace of an accent, which didn't seem strange to me.†   (source)
  • She nodded to the house where Al and Trace were working in the bright kitchen, scraping plates.†   (source)
  • Wherever we were, there were still traces of the dead leaves from the fall before staining the highway's cement.†   (source)
  • I hadn't written a line home for a year, to keep them from tracing me.†   (source)
  • The efforts of a huge and powerful government are brought to bear on a ceremony that will shed the last trace of chaos.†   (source)
  • He wished the balloon might fly back, the Witch might guess they had washed her mark off and soar down to trace the roof again.†   (source)
  • I was trying to trace the triangle and figure out how Audubon made you see a triangle without drawing a triangle and even while sticking things outside it—like the stupid foot of the stupid puffin on the right who was trying not to drown.†   (source)
  • In his eyes there was not a trace of pity and she knew in that instant that she was accepted, not judged.†   (source)
  • I Stumbled up the Driveway wanting desperately to shed the lingering traces of eau de Brendan.†   (source)
  • He keeps the process going, however, impassively but carefully unearthing the shabby traces of the recent past.†   (source)
  • Although public health officials did a fine job of tracing the outbreak to its source, the recall proved less successful.†   (source)
  • I heard the jingle of the trace chains as they tightened in the singletrees.†   (source)
  • How shall I attend that speech, Mother, how shall I trace that wave?†   (source)
  • The Centers for Disease Control focused its efforts on trying to trace the source of the virus, and the trail eventually led back to the Ferlite Farms monkey-storage facility near Manila.†   (source)
  • I felt his fingertip lightly trace the labyrinthlike spiral pattern that was, except for the exotic-looking runes interspersed around the spirals, much like my facial Mark.†   (source)
  • I slowly trace kisses down her neck and shoulders.†   (source)
  • I'll never forget the stillness, the hesitation, and a trace of something I'd never before seen on Ghosh's face: cunning.†   (source)
  • There was no trace of him!†   (source)
  • He mentioned an Eddisian mother in the forged court records to explain his dark coloring and any trace of an accent that he couldn't hide, and then he bragged about his ability to perform some outstanding feat that would have to come to my attention.†   (source)
  • But still no trace of revenge.†   (source)
  • His thumb starts to trace patterns on my wrist, and I can feel how warm and dry his skin is.†   (source)
  • Her mind sought for the slender threads of a clue that she could trace back to—perhaps—something she had said or done.†   (source)
  • Extremely potent, odorless, tasteless, is so completely absorbed once swallowed that no trace could ever be found in a dead body.†   (source)
  • I'd sit in a desk next to her and slowly trace the curves with my fingertips.†   (source)
  • But the crowds were in his way, and he was strong but he was thin and he cried, "Fezzik—Fezzik—we must track that sound, we must trace it to its source, and I cannot move, so you must lead me.†   (source)
  • Look at Things Soon all traces of Dictionopolis had vanished in the distance and all those strange and unknown lands that lay between the kingdom of words and the kingdom of numbers stretched before them.†   (source)
  • My fingers traced the route to the old castle and on to the menagerie.†   (source)
  • He walked through the house and had a look at the roofless barn, amused at how little trace remained of their ten years' residence.†   (source)
  • His mother was raped in Georgia while his papa stood by tied to the hot iron stove with plow traces, blood streaming into his shoes.†   (source)
  • I edged closer, imagining what it would be like to trace the line of her ear with my clawed finger, smelling her hair.†   (source)
  • After the slightest pause, she traces my features—tentatively, softly, barely grazing my skin.†   (source)
  • It was around the time of the divorce that all traces of decency vanished, and his dream of being the next great Southern writer was replaced by his desire to be the next published writer.†   (source)
  • It made her feel as though Tomas had purposely left a trace, a message that her presence here was his doing.†   (source)
  • Yet I also remembered, as if it had happened, great Scyld, of whose kingdom no trace remained, and his farsighted son, of whose greater kingdom no trace remained.†   (source)
  • "MASTER Horse, Master Horse," said Tirian as he hastily cut its traces, "how came these aliens to enslave you?†   (source)
  • Lower down, his neck was peculiarly swollen, his throat collared in bruises, the traces of a gun butt.†   (source)
  • No trace was ever found of the other, not in the air or on the smooth surface of the jade waters below.†   (source)
  • They use photographs to trace you.†   (source)
  • Have you tried to trace them?†   (source)
  • I think tracing its ownership is going to be a tad difficult.†   (source)
  • Or tracing letters in the dirt with a stick.†   (source)
  • Any traces of enchantment would have aroused suspicion.†   (source)
  • There was a trace of condescension in Majid's voice, as if to say, you women especially you western women-will never understand how the world really works.†   (source)
  • Eugenia made the door appear for us, we jumped through to safety, and the last I saw of Eugenia, she was shouting the spell to close the realms, even as she was swallowed by the dark without a trace.†   (source)
  • All day yesterday, he had cleaned and polished, scrubbing out the bloodstains until the last trace of evidence was gone.†   (source)
  • The Rindses abruptly left this county in 1930 without a trace, without a clue, and I want to know why.†   (source)
  • Not a trace of the polite domestic.†   (source)
  • The reporter traced George de Mohrenschildt to Palm Beach, Florida, and traveled there to confront him.†   (source)
  • He runs the water in the sink at the bar, where he drops the burning note until all traces of the ashes are gone.†   (source)
  • No trace of the fight remained but the charred trees and the arrows of Legolas lying on the hill-top.†   (source)
  • This visit, this pilgrimage, made comprehensible, finally, the traces that remained and would always remain, like a needle.†   (source)
  • Without a diary, their travels would "be no better than a flight of birds through the air," leaving no trace.†   (source)
  • One of his arms encircled my waist, pulling me as close to him as possible, and his free hand cupped my face, his thumb tracing my cheekbone.†   (source)
  • Then, very quietly and with no trace of fear, the strange rabbit said, "I am sorry for you with all my heart.†   (source)
  • John said nothing, but began tracing his finger underneath the names inscribed on the two pages; names that contained within them much of the cultural and scientific history of the entire human race.†   (source)
  • As he traces it with his eyes another pattern emerges.†   (source)
  • She was silent for a long moment, and my eyes searched her face for a trace of the compassion that she showed to her mother.†   (source)
  • Farther downstream, beyond the bluff, were traces of the old cotton landing where Finch Negroes loaded bales and produce, and unloaded blocks of ice, flour and sugar, farm equipment, and ladies' things.†   (source)
  • He caught bafflement, discomfort and, he thought, a trace of embarrassment in her eyes as he brushed a light kiss over her knuckles.†   (source)
  • She traced a line on the map.†   (source)
  • Back in my office, I started to trace them.†   (source)
  • A single tear escaped the corner of Vlad's eye and traced a line down his cheek, before falling to the floor with all of his hopes for the future.†   (source)
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meaning too rare to warrant focus:

show 10 examples with meaning too rare to warrant focus
  • "Except he didn't get on the bus, and he's not here at school," Roy said, "so I figured he must not go to Trace."   (source)
    trace = a name
  • His traces were fastened, the sled broken out, and with both men running they dashed out on to the river trail.   (source)
    traces = straps that harness dogs to sled
  • This one was stolen from Trace Middle School earlier this afternoon, shortly after classes let out.   (source)
    trace = a name
  • "We don't appreciate sarcasm here at Trace Middle," said Miss Hennepin.   (source)
  • Ironically, Garrett's mother was a guidance counselor at Trace Middle.   (source)
  • Garrett was the king of phony farts at Trace Middle.   (source)
  • Beatrice was pedaling the bicycle she'd taken from the rack at Trace Middle.   (source)
  • He preferred to read comics and mystery books on the morning ride to Trace Middle.   (source)
  • "I'm not scared," Roy said, "and I don't want to drop out of Trace Middle."   (source)
  • Apparently Dana had three older brothers, none of whom was remembered fondly at Trace Middle.   (source)
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show 40 more examples with meaning too rare to warrant focus
  • "I don't know anyone who doesn't go to Trace," Garrett said.   (source)
  • But Dana was nowhere to be seen at Trace Middle.   (source)
  • Later his father put Roy's bicycle in the trunk of his car and drove Roy to Trace Middle.   (source)
  • Is he a student here at Trace Middle?   (source)
  • 99 If Roy told his parents about the Dana situation, they might be alarmed enough to withdraw him from Trace Middle.   (source)
  • Roy was an old pro at being the new kid; Trace Middle was the sixth school he had attended since he'd started going to school.   (source)
  • So when the homeroom teacher at Trace Middle asked the new kid where he was from, he stood up and proudly said Bozeman, Montana.   (source)
  • As the guidance counselor at Trace Middle School, Garrett's mother was notified whenever a student got into trouble with the law.   (source)
  • She was saying that Trace Middle had decided not to take disciplinary action against Dana Matherson because of his injuries.   (source)
  • She was the vice-principal of Trace Middle, and it was in her dim office cubicle that Roy now sat, awaiting justice.   (source)
  • The story identified him only as a student at Trace Middle and said that the police considered him a suspect in several recent vandalisms.   (source)
  • The longer Dana had to stay away so his nose could recover from Roy's punch, the nastier he would be when he finally returned to Trace Middle.   (source)
  • None of the other Trace Middle kids had arrived yet, so Roy ran to Beatrice's house and waited on the front sidewalk.   (source)
  • They did not take kindly to trace and trail.   (source)
    trace = straps that harness dogs to sled
  • She rode for days, till they fell in the traces and the sled stood still.   (source)
  • It no longer was as one dog leaping in the traces.   (source)
  • Their business was to toil, and toil mightily, in the traces.   (source)
  • Buck tightened the traces, then slacked them for a matter of several inches.   (source)
  • Francois unfastened Sol-leks's traces and put him back in his old place.   (source)
  • Buck threw himself forward, tightening the traces with a jarring lunge.   (source)
  • It recovered its old-time solidarity, and once more the dogs leaped as one dog in the traces.   (source)
  • By the time Cassiar Bar was reached, he was so weak that he was falling repeatedly in the traces.   (source)
  • Then he stooped, picked it up himself, and with two strokes cut Buck's traces.   (source)
  • Day after day, for days unending, Buck toiled in the traces.   (source)
  • Sometimes, in the traces, when jerked by a sudden stoppage of the sled, or by straining to start it, he would cry out with pain.   (source)
  • Several times he fell down and was dragged in the traces, and once the sled ran upon him so that he limped thereafter in one of his hind legs.   (source)
  • When a halt was made, they dropped down in the traces like dead dogs, and the spark dimmed and paled and seemed to go out.   (source)
  • Dave had bitten through both of Sol-leks's traces, and was standing directly in front of the sled in his proper place.   (source)
  • They could barely keep the traces taut, and on the down grades just managed to keep out of the way of the sled.   (source)
  • Also, they held it a mercy, since Dave was to die anyway, that he should die in the traces, heart-easy and content.   (source)
  • They had eaten a pair of Perrault's moose-hide moccasins, chunks out of the leather traces, and even two feet of lash from the end of Francois's whip.   (source)
  • The toil of the traces seemed the supreme expression of their being, and all that they lived for and the only thing in which they took delight.   (source)
  • Hal had traded off his revolver, so he took the axe and knocked Billee on the head as he lay in the traces, then cut the carcass out of the harness and dragged it to one side.   (source)
  • This was the pride that bore up Spitz and made him thrash the sled-dogs who blundered and shirked in the traces or hid away at harness-up time in the morning.   (source)
  • Once, during a brief halt, when he got tangled in the traces and delayed the start, both Dave and Solleks flew at him and administered a sound trouncing.   (source)
  • He worked faithfully in the harness, for the toil had become a delight to him; yet it was a greater delight slyly to precipitate a fight amongst his mates and tangle the traces.   (source)
  • The resulting tangle was even worse, but Buck took good care to keep the traces clear thereafter; and ere the day was done, so well had he mastered his work, his mates about ceased nagging him.   (source)
  • Spitz was the leader, likewise experienced, and while he could not always get at Buck, he growled sharp reproof now and again, or cunningly threw his weight in the traces to jerk Buck into the way he should go.   (source)
  • Sick as he was, Dave resented being taken out, grunting and growling while the traces were unfastened, and whimpering broken-heartedly when he saw Sol-leks in the position he had held and served so long.   (source)
  • His comrades talked of how a dog could break its heart through being denied the work that killed it, and recalled instances they had known, where dogs, too old for the toil, or injured, had died because they were cut out of the traces.   (source)
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