"tracing" in the noun sense
1. tracing
the act of drawing a plan or diagram or outline
2. tracing, trace
a drawing created by superimposing a semitransparent sheet of paper on the original image and copying on it the lines of the original image
3. tracing
the discovery and description of the course of development of something
"the tracing of genealogies"
"tracing" in the verb sense
1. trace, follow
follow, discover, or ascertain the course of development of something
"We must follow closely the economic development is Cuba"
"trace the student's progress"
"trace one's ancestry"
2. trace, draw, line, describe, delineate
make a mark or lines on a surface
"draw a line"
"trace the outline of a figure in the sand"
3. trace, retrace
to go back over again
"we retraced the route we took last summer"
"trace your path"
4. hound, hunt, trace
pursue or chase relentlessly
"The hunters traced the deer into the woods"
"the detectives hounded the suspect until they found him"
5. trace
discover traces of
"She traced the circumstances of her birth"
6. trace
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. trace
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. decipher, trace
read with difficulty
"Can you decipher this letter?"
"The archeologist traced the hieroglyphs"
Source: WordNet® (An amazing lexical database of English)
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