tracing

IPA/ˈtreɪsɪŋ/
KK[trˈesɪŋ]IPA/ˈtreɪsɪŋ/

tracing — noun

  • tracingsingular
  • tracingsplural

1. an image you produce by placing a see-through sheet over a drawing and following

1.名詞B1
釋義

an image you produce by placing a see-through sheet over a drawing and following its lines with a pencil or pen

例句

The art student made a tracing of the cathedral's rose window before painting.

make a tracing of [something] — produce a traced copy

Trang placed tracing paper over the map and made a careful tracing of the coastline.

同義詞
  • copy

    more general; a tracing is a specific type of copy made by drawing through transparent paper

  • reproduction

    suggests a more exact or official duplicate than a hand-made tracing

文法句型

make a tracing of [something]

用法筆記

Countable — you can own or refer to one or more tracings as physical objects. Not to be confused with the uncountable act or process sense (sense 2).

常見錯誤

I made a trace of the map
I made a tracing of the map
💡the noun for the copied drawing is 'tracing', not 'trace'.

2. the process of following and recording the path, origin, or development of somet

2.名詞B2
釋義

the process of following and recording the path, origin, or development of something by examining its marks, movements, or historical records

例句

The detective worked on the tracing of the suspect's path through the city.

the tracing of [something] — formal noun pattern

Archaeologists rely on the tracing of trade routes by studying pottery at village sites.

同義詞
  • tracking

    focuses on following movement over time; 'tracing' can also cover following lines on a surface

  • following

    more general, less technical than 'tracing'

文法句型

the tracing of [something]

用法筆記

Commonly followed by 'of + [object]' to specify what is being traced. This sense is uncountable when referring to the activity in general ('Tracing requires patience') but may appear with a determiner ('a careful tracing of...') when describing a specific instance.

常見錯誤

The tracing of the flower was on my desk.
The tracing of the flower took me twenty minutes.
💡The first sentence is odd because a process cannot be on a desk; use the noun 'tracing' (sense 1) for the physical drawing, or use the gerund 'tracing' (sense 2) when talking about the activity with a time or manner description.