n.

1. a just detectable amount;
   hint, suggestion
   
   • he speaks French with a trace of an accent
2. an indication that something has been present;
   vestige, tincture, shadow
   
   • there wasn't a trace of evidence for the claim
   • a tincture of condescension
3. a suggestion of some quality;
   touch, ghost
   
   • there was a touch of sarcasm in his tone
   • he detected a ghost of a smile on her face
4. a drawing created by superimposing a semitransparent sheet of paper on the original image and copying on it the lines of the original image;
   tracing
5. either of two lines that connect a horse's harness to a wagon or other vehicle or to a whiffletree
6. a visible mark (as a footprint) left by the passage of person or animal or vehicle

v.

1. follow, discover, or ascertain the course of development of something;
   follow
   
   • We must follow closely the economic development is Cuba" ; "trace the student's progress
2. make a mark or lines on a surface;
   draw, line, describe, delineate
   
   • draw a line
   • trace the outline of a figure in the sand
3. to go back over again;
   retrace
   
   • we retraced the route we took last summer
   • trace your path
4. pursue or chase relentlessly;
   hound, hunt
   
   • The hunters traced the deer into the woods
   • the detectives hounded the suspect until they found the him
5. discover traces of
   
   • She traced the circumstances of her birth
6. 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
7. 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
8. read with difficulty;
   decipher
   
   • Can you decipher this letter?
   • The archeologist traced the hieroglyphs