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Trail vs Trace - What's the difference?

trail | trace |

Trace is a synonym of trail.



In transitive terms the difference between trail and trace

is that trail is to show a trailer of (a film, TV show etc.); to release or publish a preview of (a report etc.) in advance of the full publication while trace is to copy onto a sheet of paper superimposed over the original, by drawing over its lines.

As a proper noun Trail

is a city in British Columbia.

trail

English

Verb

(en verb)
  • (label) To follow behind (someone or something); to tail (someone or something).
  • (label) To drag (something) behind on the ground.
  • * 1922 , (Virginia Woolf), (w, Jacob's Room) Chapter 1
    • "I saw your brother—I saw your brother," he said, nodding his head, as Archer lagged past him, trailing his spade, and scowling at the old gentleman in spectacles.
  • (label) To leave (a trail of).
  • (label) To show a trailer of (a film, TV show etc.); to release or publish a preview of (a report etc.) in advance of the full publication.
  • To be losing, to be behind in a competition.
  • * {{quote-news, year=2011, date=December 29, author=Keith Jackson, work=Daily Record
    • , title= SPL: Celtic 1 Rangers 0 , passage=Neil Lennon and his players have, in almost no time at all, roared back from trailing Rangers by 15 points in November to ending the year two points clear.}}
  • (label) To carry (a firearm) with the breech near the ground and the upper part inclined forward, the piece being held by the right hand near the middle.
  • To flatten (grass, etc.) by walking through it; to tread down.
    • (Longfellow)
  • (label) To take advantage of the ignorance of; to impose upon.
  • * (1816-1855)
    • I presently perceived she was (what is vernacularly termed) trailing Mrs. Dent; that is, playing on her ignorance.

    Derived terms

    * trailer * trail off

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • The track or indication marking the route followed by something that has passed, such as the footprints of animal on land or the contrail of an airplane in the sky.
  • A route for travel over land, especially a narrow, unpaved pathway for use by hikers, horseback riders, etc.
  • A trailer broadcast on television for a forthcoming film or programme.

    • Synonyms

    * (track of an animal) spoor, sign * (route for travel over land) dirt track, footpath, path, track

    Derived terms

    * condensation trail, contrail * paper trail * sawdust trail * star trail * trail bike * trailblazer (see blazer) * trailblazing * trail mix * vapo(u)r trail

    See also

    * path * track

    Anagrams

    * * ----

    trace

    English

    (wikipedia trace)

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) trace, traas, from (etyl) , from the verb (see below).

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • An act of tracing.
  • A mark left as a sign of passage of a person or animal.
  • A very small amount.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham), title=(The China Governess)
    • , chapter=7 citation , passage=The highway to the East Coast which ran through the borough of Ebbfield had always been a main road and even now, despite the vast garages, the pylons and the gaily painted factory glasshouses which had sprung up beside it, there still remained an occasional trace of past cultures.}}
  • (electronics) An electric current-carrying conductive pathway on a printed circuit board.
  • An informal road or prominent path in an arid area.
  • One of two straps, chains, or ropes of a harness, extending from the collar or breastplate to a whippletree attached to a vehicle or thing to be drawn; a tug.
  • (fortification) The ground plan of a work or works.
  • The intersection of a plane of projection, or an original plane, with a coordinate plane.
  • (mathematics) The sum of the diagonal elements of a square matrix.
    • Derived terms
    * downtrace, uptrace
    Synonyms
    * (mark left as a sign of passage of a person or animal) track, trail * (small amount) see also .

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) tracen, from (etyl) tracer, .

    Verb

  • To follow the trail of.
  • * Milton
    • I feel thy power to trace the ways / Of highest agents.
    (Cowper)
  • To follow the history of.
  • * T. Burnet
    • You may trace the deluge quite round the globe.
  • * {{quote-news
    • , year=2011 , date=July 19 , author=Ella Davies , title=Sticks insects survive one million years without sex , work=BBC citation , page= , passage=They traced the ancient lineages of two species to reveal the insects' lengthy history of asexual reproduction.}}
  • To draw or sketch lightly or with care.
    • He carefully traced the outlines of the old building before him.
  • To copy onto a sheet of paper superimposed over the original, by drawing over its lines.
  • (obsolete) To copy; to imitate.
  • * Denham
    • That servile path thou nobly dost decline, / Of tracing word, and line by line.
  • (obsolete) To walk; to go; to travel.
  • * Spenser
    • Not wont on foot with heavy arms to trace .
  • (obsolete) To walk over; to pass through; to traverse.
  • * Shakespeare
    • We do trace this alley up and down.
    Related terms
    * tracing

    Anagrams

    * * * * * ----