n. 1
A mark left as a sign of passage of a person or animal.
n. 2
A very small amount, often residual, of some substance or material.
There are traces of chocolate around your lips.
v. 1
To follow the trail of.
v. 2
To follow the history of.

Related words

Word family: traceless traceology tracery traceable traceback tracing
Phrases: trace element stack trace trace out foliar trace leaf trace trace fossil trace italienne
Is a kind of: floating signifier

Forms

Plural: traces → vestiges, hints, marks, touches…
Past participle: traced
e.g. traced → drawn, described, delineated, lined…

Choose the right word

or Trace?

A trace is literally something drawn out in a line, and may be used in this its primary sense, or figuratively, to denote a sign or evidence left by something that has passed by, or ceased to exist.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Example sentences

remains The result of his action still remains to be seen.
hint Tom gets angry at the slightest hint of criticism.
vestige This mousepad is a vestige of a bygone era.
scintilla There is not an iota, not a scintilla, not a hint of any real evidence.

Popularity over time

Word	1850 → 2019	Trend
trace		steady
remains		steady
hint		rising
vestige		steady
scintilla		falling

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

3 letters: bit¹
4 letters: find¹, show¹, line¹, sign¹, mark¹, drop¹, spot¹, wake¹, draw¹, copy², seek¹, hunt¹, hint¹, tint¹
5 letters: track¹, touch¹, trail¹, ghost¹, grain¹, scent¹, hound¹, shred¹, whiff¹, speck¹, tinge¹, fleck¹
6 letters: record², follow², shadow², pursue², sketch¹
7 letters: remains², remnant², retrace², vestige², speckle²
8 letters: describe², memorial⁴, discover³, decipher³, tincture², footstep²
9 letters: footprint², semblance², delineate⁴, scintilla³
10 letters: suggestion³
11 letters: investigate⁴

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (copy² = 2 syllables).

In other languages

Français: trace
Italiano: traccia
Español: huella
Deutsch: Spur
Català: traça