noun, verb ·Uncommon ·College level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   The period when the beam of the cathode-ray tube returns to its initial horizontal position in order to start the next line of the display.
2. 2
   An instance of retracement.

Verb

1. 1
   To trace (a line, etc. in drawing) again. transitive
2. 2
   reassemble mentally wordnet
3. 3
   To go back over something, usually in an attempt at rediscovery. transitive

   "He retraced his steps, and found his keys where he had dropped them."

4. 4
   to go back over again wordnet
5. 5
   To undergo retracement. intransitive

Synonyms

All synonyms

bring backbring to mindcall backcall to mindcall upconjure up

Example

More examples

"Retrace your steps and maybe you'll find your keys."

Etymology

From French retracer, from Middle French retracier.

Related phrases

retrace one's stepscathode ray tube

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.