What TRACE means
A just detectable amount.
That is the short version. Read on for how to say TRACE, how to use it, and a quick way to make it stick.
TRACE at a glance
- Word: TRACE
- Part of speech: noun
- Pronunciation: /treɪs/
- Meaning: A just detectable amount.
- Example: He speaks French with a trace of an accent.
Keep this box in view while you read the rest of the page. A short summary like this is often enough for a quick lookup, and the sections below are for when you want the meaning to actually stay with you.
How to say TRACE
Pronunciation: /treɪs/
Part of speech: noun
Say TRACE out loud a few times. Hearing your own voice say a new word is one of the fastest ways to remember both its sound and its meaning. Try saying it slowly first, then at normal speed, then inside a full sentence. If a part of the pronunciation trips you up, slow down on that part alone before putting the whole word back together.
TRACE in a sentence
He speaks French with a trace of an accent.
Notice how TRACE fits into that sentence as noun. Try swapping in your own subject and see if the sentence still makes sense. If it does, you have understood the meaning of TRACE, not just memorized it.
Ways to remember TRACE
A new word sticks better when you do something with it, not just read it.
Say it, then use it. Repeat TRACE once, then build one sentence of your own with it today.
Connect it to something you know. Think of a moment from your own week where TRACE could apply, even loosely.
Spell it out. Cover the word, spell TRACE from memory, then check. This catches the letters your eyes skipped over the first time.
Come back tomorrow. A word reviewed a day later is far more likely to stay than one read once and left.
Notice it in the wild. Once you know TRACE, you will start spotting it in things you read. Each time you notice it, the meaning gets a little more solid.
Play a board with TRACE
A definition is easier to keep once you have used the word under a little pressure. Try today's word game, or search for more words like TRACE with the word finder. Missed a word along the way? The vocabulary quiz is a quick way to check what stuck, and missed words come back around for review instead of disappearing.
For teachers and parents
This page works well as a quick reference before a lesson or a homework check. Look up a word, read the definition and example together, then ask the student to build a new sentence with it. A student who can use TRACE correctly in a sentence they made up has learned it. One who can only repeat the definition back has not, yet.
A quick classroom routine: put TRACE on the board, cover the definition, and ask the class to guess the meaning from the example sentence alone. Reveal the real definition after a few guesses. It takes a minute and gets students reasoning about context clues instead of just memorizing.
More words to learn
- Word of the day for a new word every day.
- Vocabulary quiz to test what you remember.
- How to play if you are new to the games on this site.
The letters in TRACE
- Length: 5 letters
- Vowels: 2 (A, E)
- Different letters: 5, all different
- First letter: T, last letter: E
Words built from the same letters
- ACTOR: A person who acts and gets things done.
- ACUTE: Having or experiencing a rapid onset and short but severe course.
- ALERT: Condition of heightened watchfulness or preparation for action.
- AVERT: Prevent the occurrence of; prevent from happening; to protect from or to keep away anything undesirable; to ward off.
- BRACE: A support that steadies or strengthens something else.
- CARVE: Form by carving.
- CASTE: Social status or position conferred by a system based on class.
- CHART: Make a chart of.