ADJ
- archaeological, historical
- indelible, permanent
- memory (technical)
VERB + TRACE
- leave
- The burglar had left several traces of his presence. Little trace is left of how Stone Age people lived
- bear, reveal, show
- discover, find
- The search party had found no trace of the missing climbers
- obliterate, remove
- Remove all traces of rust with a small wire brush
- disappear/sink/vanish without
- The ship seems to have sunk without trace
TRACE + VERB
- remain
- Traces still remain of the long-defunct Surrey Iron Railway
PREP
- with/without a ~ of sth
- 'No thanks,' she said, with a trace of irritation in her voice
- without ~
- The plane was lost without a trace over the Atlantic
ADJ
- discernible, faint, minute, slight, small, tiny
- There was not the faintest trace of irony in her voice
- unmistakable
VERB + TRACE
- contain
- The water was found to contain traces of sulphuric acid
- detect, find
TRACE + NOUN
- amount
- element, gas, metal, mineral
- Kelp is rich in vitamins and trace elements
PREP
- ~ of
- a trace of amusement/anxiety/a smile
VERB + TRACE
- be able/unable to, can
- Police have been unable to trace her movements during her final days
- attempt to, try to
- help (to)
- fail to
- be difficult to
- be possible to
PREP
- to
- The stolen paintings have been successfully traced to a London warehouse
ADV
- carefully
- easily
- Words have over the centuries acquired meanings not easily traced in dictionaries
- directly
- historically
- back
VERB + TRACE
- can
- attempt to, try to
- be difficult to
- The origins of the custom are difficult to trace
- be possible to
PREP
- to
- The book traces the history of the game back to an incident in 1863
PREP
- with
- She lightly traced the outline of his face with her finger
