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Meaning & use

retrace

verb·Everyday

Last updated

UK/riːˈtreɪs/
US/riˈtreɪs/

Meanings

  1. verbtransitive

    To go back along the same path you took earlier.

    Grammar: Takes an object: retrace your steps.

    Patterns

    • retrace your steps
    • retrace a route

    I retraced my steps to the café to look for my keys.

    The hikers retraced their route back to the car.

    She retraced the path they had walked that morning.

  2. verbtransitive

    To go over events or a history again in order to understand them.

    Grammar: Used with story, history or sequence: retrace the events.

    Patterns

    • retrace the events of something

    Detectives retraced the victim's last movements.

    The book retraces the history of the town.

    He retraced the conversation to find where it went wrong.

  3. verbtransitive

    To draw over a line or shape again.

    Grammar: A physical use in drawing: retrace the outline.

    Patterns

    • retrace an outline

    The child retraced the letters in pencil.

    She retraced the outline with a darker pen.

    An artist retraced the sketch onto clean paper.

Word forms

third person singularretraces
past tenseretraced
past participleretraced
-ing formretracing

Common combinations

retrace your steps
If you lose your wallet, retrace your steps.
retrace a journey
They retraced the journey of the early explorers.
retrace the route
We retraced the route to the old mill.
retrace the events
Police retraced the events of that night.
retrace the history
The film retraces the history of jazz.

Synonyms and how they differ

backtrack
Backtrack means to return along a path or change a position, while retrace stresses following the same path exactly.
revisit
Revisit means to visit again, not necessarily by the same route.
reconstruct
Reconstruct means building up a sequence from evidence, whereas retrace follows the path itself.

Opposites

advance

Word family

trace verb
to follow or find the origin of something
trace noun
a small sign that something existed
traceable adjective
able to be followed back to its source
retracement noun
the act of going back over something

Commonly confused: retrace or retract?

retrace vs retract

Retract means to pull back or withdraw a statement, which is different from going back over a route.

Practice

What does it mean to 'retrace your steps'?

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