Trace vs. Copy — What's the Difference?
Difference Between Trace and Copy
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Compare with Definitions
Trace
Find or discover by investigation
Police are trying to trace a white van seen in the area
Copy
A thing made to be similar or identical to another
The problem is telling which is the original document and which the copy
Trace
Copy (a drawing, map, or design) by drawing over its lines on a superimposed piece of transparent paper
Trace a map of the world on to a large piece of paper
Copy
A single specimen of a particular book, record, or other publication or issue
The record has sold more than a million copies
Trace
A mark, object, or other indication of the existence or passing of something
Remove all traces of the old adhesive
The aircraft disappeared without trace
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Copy
Matter to be printed
Copy for the next issue must be submitted by the beginning of the month
Trace
A very small quantity, especially one too small to be accurately measured
His body contained traces of amphetamines
Trace quantities of PCBs
Copy
A blank booklet or notebook used for schoolwork
You need a stock of exercise copies, A4 refill pads, and maths copies
Examinees will not be allowed to take pens, copies, or water bottles inside the test centre
Trace
A procedure to investigate the source of something, such as the place from which a telephone call was made
We've got a trace on the call
Copy
Make a similar or identical version of; reproduce
Each form had to be copied and sent to a different department
Trace
A line which represents the projection of a curve or surface on a plane or the intersection of a curve or surface with a plane.
Copy
Imitate the style or behaviour of
Lifestyles that were copied from Miami and Fifth Avenue
Art students copied from approved old masters
Trace
A path or track.
Copy
Hear or understand someone speaking on a radio transmitter
This is Edwards, do you copy, over
Trace
The sum of the elements in the principal diagonal of a square matrix.
Copy
An imitation or reproduction of an original; a duplicate
A copy of a painting.
Made two copies of the letter.
Trace
Each of the two side straps, chains, or ropes by which a horse is attached to a vehicle that it is pulling.
Copy
(Computers) A file that has the same data as another file
Stored on the server a copy of every document.
Trace
A visible mark, such as a footprint, made or left by the passage of a person, animal, or thing.
Copy
One example of a printed text, picture, film, or recording
An autographed copy of a novel.
Trace
Evidence or an indication of the former presence or existence of something; a vestige
Left without a trace of having been there.
Copy
Material, such as a manuscript, that is to be set in type.
Trace
An extremely small amount or barely perceivable indication
Spoke with a trace of sarcasm.
Copy
The words to be printed or spoken in an advertisement.
Trace
A constituent, such as a chemical compound or element, present in quantities less than a standard limit.
Copy
Suitable source material for journalism
Celebrities make good copy.
Trace
A path or trail that has been beaten out by the passage of animals or people.
Copy
To make a reproduction or copy of
Copied the note letter for letter.
Copied the file to a disk.
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.
Copy
To follow as a model or pattern; imitate.
Trace
A line drawn by a recording instrument, such as a cardiograph.
Copy
To include as an additional recipient of a written communication
Please copy me when you reply to her.
Trace
The point at which a line, or the curve in which a surface, intersects a coordinate plane.
Copy
To make a copy or copies.
Trace
The sum of the elements of the principal diagonal of a matrix.
Copy
To admit of being copied
Colored ink that does not copy well.
Trace
An engram.
Copy
To hear clearly or understand something said by radio communication
Mayday. Do you copy?.
Trace
One of two side straps or chains connecting a harnessed draft animal to a vehicle or whiffletree.
Copy
The result of copying; an identical duplicate of an original.
Please bring me the copies of those reports.
Trace
A bar or rod, hinged at either end to another part, that transfers movement from one part of a machine to another.
Copy
An imitation, sometimes of inferior quality.
That handbag is a copy. You can tell because the buckle is different.
Trace
To go along or follow (a path, for example)
We traced the trail up the mountain.
Copy
(journalism) The text that is to be typeset.
Trace
To follow the course or trail of
Trace a wounded deer.
Copy
(journalism) A gender-neutral abbreviation for copy boy.
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.
Copy
The output of copywriters, who are employed to write material which encourages consumers to buy goods or services.
Trace
To discover or determine by searching or researching evidence
Trace the cause of a disease.
Copy
(uncountable) The text of newspaper articles.
Submit all copy to the appropriate editor.
Trace
To locate or ascertain the origin of
Traced the money to a foreign bank account.
Copy
A school work pad.
Tim got in trouble for forgetting his maths copy.
Trace
To draw (a line or figure); sketch; delineate.
Copy
A printed edition of a book or magazine.
Have you seen the latest copy of "Newsweek" yet?
The library has several copies of the Bible.
Trace
To form (letters) with special concentration or care.
Copy
Writing paper of a particular size, called also bastard.
Trace
To copy by following lines seen through a sheet of transparent paper.
Copy
(obsolete) That which is to be imitated, transcribed, or reproduced; a pattern, model, or example.
His virtues are an excellent copy for imitation.
Trace
To follow closely (a prescribed pattern)
The skater traced a figure eight.
Copy
(obsolete) An abundance or plenty of anything.
Trace
To imprint (a design) by pressure with an instrument on a superimposed pattern.
Copy
(obsolete) copyhold; tenure; lease
Trace
To make a design or series of markings on (a surface) by such pressure on a pattern.
Copy
(genetics) The result of gene or chromosomal duplication.
Trace
To record (a variable), as on a graph.
Copy
(transitive) To produce an object identical to a given object.
Please copy these reports for me.
Trace
To make one's way along a trail or course
We traced along the ridge.
Copy
(transitive) To give or transmit a copy to (a person).
Make sure you copy me on that important memo.
Trace
To have origins; be traceable
Linguistic features that trace to West Africa.
Copy
To place a copy of an object in memory for later use.
First copy the files, and then paste them in another directory.
Trace
Occurring in extremely small amounts or in quantities less than a standard limit.
Copy
(transitive) To imitate.
Don't copy my dance moves.
Mom, he's copying me!
Trace
An act of tracing.
Your cell phone company can put a trace on your line.
Copy
(radio) To receive a transmission successfully.
Do you copy?
Trace
An enquiry sent out for a missing article, such as a letter or an express package.
Copy
An abundance or plenty of anything.
She was blessed with no more copy of wit, but to serve his humor thus.
Trace
A mark left as a sign of passage of a person or animal.
Copy
An imitation, transcript, or reproduction of an original work; as, a copy of a letter, an engraving, a painting, or a statue.
I have not the vanity to think my copy equal to the original.
Trace
A residue of some substance or material.
There are traces of chocolate around your lips.
Copy
An individual book, or a single set of books containing the works of an author; as, a copy of the Bible; a copy of the works of Addison.
Trace
A very small amount.
All of our chocolates may contain traces of nuts.
Copy
That which is to be imitated, transcribed, or reproduced; a pattern, model, or example; as, his virtues are an excellent copy for imitation.
Let him first learn to write, after a copy, all the letters.
Trace
(electronics) A current-carrying conductive pathway on a printed circuit board.
Copy
Manuscript or printed matter to be set up in type; as, the printers are calling for more copy.
Trace
An informal road or prominent path in an arid area.
Copy
A writing paper of a particular size. Same as Bastard. See under Paper.
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.
Copy
Copyhold; tenure; lease.
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.
Copy
To make a copy or copies of; to write; print, engrave, or paint after an original; to duplicate; to reproduce; to transcribe; as, to copy a manuscript, inscription, design, painting, etc.; - often with out, sometimes with off.
I like the work well; ere it be demanded(As like enough it will), I'd have it copied.
Let this be copied out,And keep it safe for our remembrance.
Trace
(fortification) The ground plan of a work or works.
Copy
To imitate; to attempt to resemble, as in manners or course of life.
We copy instinctively the voices of our companions, their accents, and their modes of pronunciation.
Trace
(geometry) The intersection of a plane of projection, or an original plane, with a coordinate plane.
Copy
To make a copy or copies; to imitate.
Trace
(mathematics) The sum of the diagonal elements of a square matrix.
Copy
To yield a duplicate or transcript; as, the letter did not copy well.
Some . . . never fail, when they copy, to follow the bad as well as the good things.
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.
Copy
A reproduction of a written record (e.g. of a legal or school record)
Trace
(transitive) To follow the trail of.
Copy
A secondary representation of an original;
She made a copy of the designer dress
Trace
To follow the history of.
Copy
Matter to be printed; exclusive of graphical materials
Trace
(transitive) To draw or sketch lightly or with care.
He carefully traced the outlines of the old building before him.
Copy
Material suitable for a journalistic account;
Catastrophes make good copy
Trace
(transitive) To copy onto a sheet of paper superimposed over the original, by drawing over its lines.
Copy
Copy down as is;
The students were made to copy the alphabet over and over
Trace
To copy; to imitate.
Copy
Reproduce someone's behavior or looks;
The mime imitated the passers-by
Children often copy their parents or older siblings
Trace
To walk; to go; to travel.
Copy
Biology: reproduce or make an exact copy of;
Replicate the cell
Copy the genetic information
Trace
To walk over; to pass through; to traverse.
Copy
Make a replica of;
Copy that drawing
Re-create a picture by Rembrandt
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Trace
The intersection of a plane of projection, or an original plane, with a coordinate plane.
Trace
The ground plan of a work or works.
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.
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.
Trace
Hence, to follow the trace or track of.
How all the way the prince on footpace traced.
Trace
To copy; to imitate.
That servile path thou nobly dost decline,Of tracing word, and line by line.
Trace
To walk over; to pass through; to traverse.
We do tracethis alley up and down.
Trace
To walk; to go; to travel.
Not wont on foot with heavy arms to trace.
Trace
A just detectable amount;
He speaks French with a trace of an accent
Trace
An indication that something has been present;
There wasn't a trace of evidence for the claim
A tincture of condescension
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
Trace
Drawing created by tracing
Trace
Either of two lines that connect a horse's harness to a wagon or other vehicle or to a whiffletree
Trace
A visible mark (as a footprint) left by the passage of person or animal or vehicle
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
Trace
Make a mark or lines on a surface;
Draw a line
Trace the outline of a figure in the sand
Trace
To go back over again;
We retraced the route we took last summer
Trace your path
Trace
Pursue or chase relentlessly;
The hunters traced the deer into the woods
The detectives hounded the suspect until they found the him
Trace
Discover traces of;
She traced the circumstances of her birth
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
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
Trace
Read with difficulty;
Can you decipher this letter?
The archeologist traced the hieroglyphs
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