Track vs. Trace: What's the Difference?
Edited by Harlon Moss || By Janet White || Updated on October 11, 2023
"Track" means to follow the progress of, while "Trace" means to find or discover by investigation.
Key Differences
In many contexts, both Track and Trace imply a sense of following or monitoring. However, Track typically emphasizes following the progress or movement of something or someone over time. For example, a fitness tracker can track one's steps throughout the day. On the other hand, Trace often suggests finding or discovering the origin or existence of something, like tracing one's genealogy back several generations.
To Track something often requires a systematic method or tool. For instance, companies track shipments to ensure they reach their destination on time. This process usually involves technology or systems that monitor the item's movement. In contrast, to Trace something means to find its origin, source, or path taken, often after it has already occurred or been lost, such as tracing a call to its source.
In athletic contexts, a Track might refer to a path designed for racing, like a running track. Athletes use this space for competitions and exercise. Trace, in a similar context, would imply following a particular route or path that might not have a predetermined or established course, like tracing a path through the woods.
There's also a more literal and tangible aspect to these terms. To Track muddy footprints into a house means someone has left a series of marks from their shoes. Whereas, to Trace a drawing means to copy it by following its lines closely, often using translucent paper.
Comparison Chart
Primary Definition
To follow the progress of.
To find or discover by investigation.
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Usage
Involves real-time or consistent monitoring.
Involves discovering or finding after the fact.
Application
Often requires a tool or system.
Can be based on evidence or clues.
Athletic Context
Refers to a path designed for racing.
Following a route without a predetermined course.
Tangible Aspect
Leaving a series of marks or evidence.
Copying by closely following lines or patterns.
Track and Trace Definitions
Track
Monitor or follow the progress or movements of.
They track the migration patterns of birds.
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Trace
A very small quantity or evidence.
There was a trace of lipstick on his collar.
Track
Leave marks or evidence of movement.
He tracked mud all over the carpet.
Trace
A visible mark, such as a footprint, made or left by the passage of a person, animal, or thing.
Track
Record or monitor a specific aspect.
She tracks her daily caloric intake.
Trace
Evidence or an indication of the former presence or existence of something; a vestige
Left without a trace of having been there.
Track
Pursue or chase.
The detective tracked the suspect across three states.
Trace
An extremely small amount or barely perceivable indication
Spoke with a trace of sarcasm.
Track
A mark or succession of marks left by something that has passed.
Trace
A constituent, such as a chemical compound or element, present in quantities less than a standard limit.
Track
A path, route, or course indicated by such marks
An old wagon track through the mountains.
Trace
A path or trail that has been beaten out by the passage of animals or people.
Track
A path along which something moves; a course
Following the track of an airplane on radar.
Trace
An act of researching or ascertaining the origin or location of something
Put a trace on the phone call.
Asked for a trace on a lost package.
Track
A course of action; a method of proceeding
On the right track for solving the puzzle.
Trace
A line drawn by a recording instrument, such as a cardiograph.
Track
An intended or proper course
Putting a stalled project back on track.
Trace
The point at which a line, or the curve in which a surface, intersects a coordinate plane.
Track
A succession of ideas; a train of thought.
Trace
The sum of the elements of the principal diagonal of a matrix.
Track
Awareness of something occurring or passing
Keeping track of the score.
Lost all track of time.
Trace
An engram.
Track
A course laid out for running or racing.
Trace
One of two side straps or chains connecting a harnessed draft animal to a vehicle or whiffletree.
Track
Athletic competition on such a course; track events.
Trace
A bar or rod, hinged at either end to another part, that transfers movement from one part of a machine to another.
Track
Track and field.
Trace
To go along or follow (a path, for example)
We traced the trail up the mountain.
Track
A rail or set of parallel rails upon which railroad cars or other vehicles run.
Trace
To follow the course or trail of
Trace a wounded deer.
Track
Tracks The boundary, formerly often delineated by train tracks, that separates two neighborhoods of different social class
Grew up on the wrong side of the tracks.
Trace
To ascertain the successive stages in the development or progress of
Tracing the life cycle of an insect.
Trace the history of a family.
Track
Either of the continuous metal belts with which vehicles such as bulldozers and tanks move over the ground.
Trace
To discover or determine by searching or researching evidence
Trace the cause of a disease.
Track
A metal groove or ridge that holds, guides, and reduces friction for a moving device or apparatus.
Trace
To locate or ascertain the origin of
Traced the money to a foreign bank account.
Track
Any of several courses of study to which students are assigned according to ability, achievement, or needs
Academic, vocational, and general tracks.
Trace
To draw (a line or figure); sketch; delineate.
Track
A distinct path, as along a length of film or magnetic tape, on which sound, images, or other information is recorded.
Trace
To form (letters) with special concentration or care.
Track
A distinct selection from an audio or video recording, usually containing an individual work or part of a larger work
The title track of an album.
Trace
To copy by following lines seen through a sheet of transparent paper.
Track
One of two or more separate recordings that are combined so as to be replayed simultaneously, as in stereophonic sound reproduction
Mixed the vocal track and instrumental track.
Trace
To follow closely (a prescribed pattern)
The skater traced a figure eight.
Track
One of the concentric magnetic rings that form the separate data storage areas on a floppy disk or a hard disk.
Trace
To imprint (a design) by pressure with an instrument on a superimposed pattern.
Track
A set of digital data encoded consecutively on an optical disc.
Trace
To make a design or series of markings on (a surface) by such pressure on a pattern.
Track
Tracks(Slang) Needle marks on the skin from multiple intravenous injections, considered an indication of habitual drug use.
Trace
To record (a variable), as on a graph.
Track
To follow the tracks of; trail
Tracking game through the forest.
Trace
To make one's way along a trail or course
We traced along the ridge.
Track
To leave marks made of (dirt or mud, for example) on a surface
The dog tracked mud on the rug.
Trace
To have origins; be traceable
Linguistic features that trace to West Africa.
Track
To leave marks on (a floor, for example) when moving or traversing
You're tracking up my nice clean floor!.
Trace
Occurring in extremely small amounts or in quantities less than a standard limit.
Track
To observe or monitor the course of (an aircraft, for example), as by radar.
Trace
An act of tracing.
Your cell phone company can put a trace on your line.
Track
To observe the progress of; follow
Tracking the company's performance daily.
Trace
An enquiry sent out for a missing article, such as a letter or an express package.
Track
To determine or discover the location or origin of
Tracked the money to an offshore account.
Trace
A mark left as a sign of passage of a person or animal.
Track
To equip with a track.
Trace
A residue of some substance or material.
There are traces of chocolate around your lips.
Track
To assign (a student) to a curricular track.
Trace
A very small amount.
All of our chocolates may contain traces of nuts.
Track
To follow a course; travel
The storm is tracking up the coast.
Trace
(electronics) A current-carrying conductive pathway on a printed circuit board.
Track
To keep a constant distance apart. Used of a pair of wheels.
Trace
An informal road or prominent path in an arid area.
Track
To be in alignment
The gears are not tracking properly.
Trace
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.
Track
To follow the undulations in the groove of a phonograph record. Used of a needle.
Trace
(engineering) A connecting bar or rod, pivoted at each end to the end of another piece, for transmitting motion, especially from one plane to another; specifically, such a piece in an organ stop action to transmit motion from the trundle to the lever actuating the stop slider.
Track
To move across magnetic heads. Used of magnetic tape.
Trace
(fortification) The ground plan of a work or works.
Track
To move in relation to a subject being filmed. Used of a camera or camera crew.
Trace
(geometry) The intersection of a plane of projection, or an original plane, with a coordinate plane.
Track
A mark left by something that has passed along.
Follow the track of the ship.
Can you see any tracks in the snow?
Trace
(mathematics) The sum of the diagonal elements of a square matrix.
Track
A mark or impression left by the foot, either of man or animal.
The fox tracks were still visible in the snow.
Trace
(grammar) An empty category occupying a position in the syntactic structure from which something has been moved, used to explain constructions such as wh-movement and the passive.
Track
The entire lower surface of the foot; said of birds, etc.
Trace
(transitive) To follow the trail of.
Track
A road or other similar beaten path.
Follow the track for a hundred metres.
Trace
To follow the history of.
Track
Physical course; way.
Astronomers predicted the track of the comet.
Trace
(transitive) To draw or sketch lightly or with care.
He carefully traced the outlines of the old building before him.
Track
A path or course laid out for a race, for exercise, etc.
The athletes ran round the track.
Trace
(transitive) To copy onto a sheet of paper superimposed over the original, by drawing over its lines.
Track
The direction and progress of someone or something; path.
Trace
To copy; to imitate.
Track
(railways) The way or rails along which a train moves. Category:en:Rail transportation
They briefly closed the railway to remove debris found on the track.
Trace
To walk; to go; to travel.
Track
A tract or area, such as of land.
Trace
To walk over; to pass through; to traverse.
Track
(slang) The street, as a prostitute's place of work.
Trace
To follow the execution of the program by making it to stop after every instruction, or by making it print a message after every step.
Track
Awareness of something, especially when arising from close monitoring.
Trace
One of two straps, chains, or ropes of a harness, extending from the collar or breastplate to a whiffletree attached to a vehicle or thing to be drawn; a tug.
Track
(automotive) The distance between two opposite wheels on a same axletree.
Trace
A connecting bar or rod, pivoted at each end to the end of another piece, for transmitting motion, esp. from one plane to another; specif., such a piece in an organ-stop action to transmit motion from the trundle to the lever actuating the stop slider.
Track
(automotive) caterpillar track
Trace
A mark left by anything passing; a track; a path; a course; a footprint; a vestige; as, the trace of a carriage or sled; the trace of a deer; a sinuous trace.
Track
(cricket) The pitch.
Trace
A very small quantity of an element or compound in a given substance, especially when so small that the amount is not quantitatively determined in an analysis; - hence, in stating an analysis, often contracted to tr.
Track
Sound stored on a record.
Trace
A mark, impression, or visible appearance of anything left when the thing itself no longer exists; remains; token; vestige.
The shady empire shall retain no traceOf war or blood, but in the sylvan chase.
Track
The physical track on a record.
Trace
The intersection of a plane of projection, or an original plane, with a coordinate plane.
Track
(music) A song or other relatively short piece of music, on a record, separated from others by a short silence.
My favourite track on the album is "Sunshine".
Trace
The ground plan of a work or works.
Track
A circular (never-ending) data storage unit on a side of magnetic or optical disk, divided into sectors.
Trace
To mark out; to draw or delineate with marks; especially, to copy, as a drawing or engraving, by following the lines and marking them on a sheet superimposed, through which they appear; as, to trace a figure or an outline; a traced drawing.
Some faintly traced features or outline of the mother and the child, slowly lading into the twilight of the woods.
Track
The racing events of track and field; track and field in general.
I'm going to try out for track next week.
Trace
To follow by some mark that has been left by a person or thing which has preceded; to follow by footsteps, tracks, or tokens.
You may trace the deluge quite round the globe.
I feel thy power . . . to trace the waysOf highest agents.
Track
A themed set of talks within a conference.
Trace
Hence, to follow the trace or track of.
How all the way the prince on footpace traced.
Track
Clipping of trackshoe
Trace
To copy; to imitate.
That servile path thou nobly dost decline,Of tracing word, and line by line.
Track
To continue over time.
Trace
To walk over; to pass through; to traverse.
We do tracethis alley up and down.
Track
(transitive) To observe the (measured) state of a person or object over time.
We will track the raven population over the next six months.
Trace
To walk; to go; to travel.
Not wont on foot with heavy arms to trace.
Track
(transitive) To monitor the movement of a person or object.
Agent Miles has been tracking the terrorist since Madrid.
Trace
A just detectable amount;
He speaks French with a trace of an accent
Track
(transitive) To match the movement or change of a person or object.
My height tracks my father's at my age, so I might end up as tall as him.
Trace
An indication that something has been present;
There wasn't a trace of evidence for the claim
A tincture of condescension
Track
To travel so that a moving object remains in shot.
The camera tracked the ball even as the field of play moved back and forth, keeping the action in shot the entire time.
Trace
A suggestion of some quality;
There was a touch of sarcasm in his tone
He detected a ghost of a smile on her face
Track
To move.
The hurricane tracked further west than expected.
Trace
Drawing created by tracing
Track
(transitive) To traverse; to move across.
Trace
Either of two lines that connect a horse's harness to a wagon or other vehicle or to a whiffletree
Track
(transitive) To tow.
Trace
A visible mark (as a footprint) left by the passage of person or animal or vehicle
Track
(intransitive) To exhibit good cognitive function.
Is the patient tracking? Does he know where he is?
Trace
Follow, discover, or ascertain the course of development of something;
We must follow closely the economic development is Cuba
Trace the student's progress
Track
(transitive) To follow the tracks of.
My uncle spent all day tracking the deer, whose hoofprints were clear in the mud.
Trace
Make a mark or lines on a surface;
Draw a line
Trace the outline of a figure in the sand
Track
(transitive) To discover the location of a person or object by following traces.
I tracked Joe to his friend's bedroom, where he had spent the night.
Trace
To go back over again;
We retraced the route we took last summer
Trace your path
Track
(transitive) To make tracks on or to leave in the form of tracks.
In winter, my cat tracks mud all over the house.
Trace
Pursue or chase relentlessly;
The hunters traced the deer into the woods
The detectives hounded the suspect until they found the him
Track
To create a musical recording (a track).
Lil Kyle is gonna track with that DJ next week.
Trace
Discover traces of;
She traced the circumstances of her birth
Track
To create music using tracker software.
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 drak forest
The women traced the pasture
Track
To make sense; to be consistent with known information
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
Track
A mark left by something that has passed along; as, the track, or wake, of a ship; the track of a meteor; the track of a sled or a wheel.
The bright track of his fiery car.
Trace
Read with difficulty;
Can you decipher this letter?
The archeologist traced the hieroglyphs
Track
A mark or impression left by the foot, either of man or beast; trace; vestige; footprint.
Far from track of men.
Trace
Discover or locate by investigation or searching.
They managed to trace the missing person.
Track
The entire lower surface of the foot; - said of birds, etc.
Trace
Copy a drawing or pattern by following its lines.
She traced the picture onto her notebook.
Track
A road; a beaten path.
Behold Torquatus the same track pursue.
Trace
Find the origin or source of something.
They traced the infection to a contaminated well.
Track
Course; way; as, the track of a comet.
Trace
Mark or delineate a path or route.
The hikers traced a path up the mountain.
Track
A path or course laid out for a race, for exercise, etc.
Track
The permanent way; the rails.
Track
A tract or area, as of land.
Track
To follow the tracks or traces of; to pursue by following the marks of the feet; to trace; to trail; as, to track a deer in the snow.
It was often found impossible to track the robbers to their retreats among the hills and morasses.
Track
To draw along continuously, as a vessel, by a line, men or animals on shore being the motive power; to tow.
Track
A line or route along which something travels or moves;
The hurricane demolished houses in its path
The track of an animal
The course of the river
Track
Evidence pointing to a possible solution;
The police are following a promising lead
The trail led straight to the perpetrator
Track
A pair of parallel rails providing a runway for wheels
Track
A course over which races are run
Track
A distinct selection of music from a recording or a compact disc;
He played the first cut on the cd
The title track of the album
Track
An endless metal belt on which tracked vehicles move over the ground
Track
(computer science) one of the circular magnetic paths on a magnetic disk that serve as a guide for writing and reading data
Track
A groove on a phonograph recording
Track
A bar or bars of rolled steel making a track along which vehicles can roll
Track
Any road or path affording passage especially a rough one
Track
The act of participating in an athletic competition involving running on a track
Track
Carry on the feet and deposit;
Track mud into the house
Track
Observe or plot the moving path of something;
Track a missile
Track
Go after with the intent to catch;
The policeman chased the mugger down the alley
The dog chased the rabbit
Track
Travel across or pass over;
The caravan covered almost 100 miles each day
Track
Make tracks upon
Track
A path or route designed for a specific purpose.
She runs five laps on the track every morning.
FAQs
Is "Track" always about following in real-time?
No, but "Track" often involves consistent monitoring or following progress over time.
Can "Trace" refer to a small amount?
Yes, "Trace" can mean a very small quantity or evidence of something.
What's involved in tracing one's ancestry?
Tracing ancestry involves discovering or finding your genealogical origins.
Do you "Track" or "Trace" a package's current location?
You "Track" a package's current location.
If I'm finding the source of a rumor, do I "Track" or "Trace"?
You "Trace" the rumor to its origin.
When copying art, do I "Track" or "Trace"?
You "Trace" the art by following its lines.
How do trackers "Track" animals in the wild?
Trackers follow the physical signs or movements of animals.
Can "Track" mean a physical path?
Yes, like a running track or train track.
Can you "Track" changes in a document?
Yes, many software programs allow users to "Track" changes.
When outlining a hand's shape, do you "Track" or "Trace"?
You "Trace" the hand's shape by following its outline.
About Author
Written by
Janet WhiteJanet White has been an esteemed writer and blogger for Difference Wiki. Holding a Master's degree in Science and Medical Journalism from the prestigious Boston University, she has consistently demonstrated her expertise and passion for her field. When she's not immersed in her work, Janet relishes her time exercising, delving into a good book, and cherishing moments with friends and family.
Edited by
Harlon MossHarlon is a seasoned quality moderator and accomplished content writer for Difference Wiki. An alumnus of the prestigious University of California, he earned his degree in Computer Science. Leveraging his academic background, Harlon brings a meticulous and informed perspective to his work, ensuring content accuracy and excellence.
