Dictionary

tracer en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• [ˈtʃɹeɪsɚ] (General-American)
• /ˈtɹeɪsə(ɹ)/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ˈtɹeɪsɚ/ (General-American)
• [ˈtʃɹeɪsə(ɹ)] (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

From trace + -er.

Meanings

1. A compound, element, or isotope used to track the progress or history of a natural process.
2. A round of ammunition for a firearm that contains magnesium or another flammable substance arranged such that it will burn and produce a visible trail when fired in the dark.
3. The act or state of tracking or investigating something.
   • We have a five-man tracer on him now. He's heading for a Vorster cell on Michigan Boulevard, and he's drunk as a lord. Should we intercept him? 1964, Galaxy Magazine, volume 23, numbers 1-6, page 125:
   • A surveyor typically conducts a tracer on his or her own and later meets up with the rest of the team to discuss findings. 2011, Joint Commission Resources, Environment of Care Tracer Workbook, →ISBN, page 5:
   • Ain't never running but I'm a paper chasing They gon catch up to me, they gon need a pacer How they over-watching me without a tracer 2017, “From the Sewers”, CardCaptorXP (lyrics):
4. A request to trace the movements of a person or an object, such as a shipment.
   • The next morning when she awoke, she told Darcy what had happened, and Darcy agreed that she should go to the police and this time ask them if they could put a tracer on her incoming phone calls, just in case he called again. 2010, Claire Gilbert, A Runway for a Dream:
5. A person who traces something.
6. A device or instrument used to assist in making tracings.
7. A process that traces something, such as the path of execution of a program during debugging.

Forms

Deriveds

nanotracer · skip tracer · dye tracer · tracer round · tracer bullet · ray tracer · tracer shell · intrinsic tracer · flow tracer · bead tracer · signal tracer · tracer log · filtrate tracer · radioactive tracer · contact tracer · neurotracer · gas tracer · tracer ammunition · skip-tracer · packet tracer · tracer element · path tracer · radiotracer

Synonyms

tracer ammunition · tracer bullet

Translations (15)

fi merkkiaine (A chemical used to track the progress or history of a natural process) · fi valojuovaluoti (A piece of ammunition for a firearm that contains magnesium or another flammable substance) · ko 예광탄 (A piece of ammunition for a firearm that contains magnesium or another flammable substance) · de Leuchtspurmunition (A piece of ammunition for a firearm that contains magnesium or another flammable substance) · ar دخيرة خطّاطة (A piece of ammunition for a firearm that contains magnesium or another flammable substance) · nl lichtspoormunitie (A piece of ammunition for a firearm that contains magnesium or another flammable substance) · nl tracer (A piece of ammunition for a firearm that contains magnesium or another flammable substance) · fr marqueur (A chemical used to track the progress or history of a natural process) · bg трасиращ куршум (A piece of ammunition for a firearm that contains magnesium or another flammable substance) · ga rianaí (A person who traces something) · fi valojuova-ammus (A piece of ammunition for a firearm that contains magnesium or another flammable substance) · bg белязан атом (A chemical used to track the progress or history of a natural process) · fi jäljittäjä (A person who traces something) · hu fényjelző lőszer (A piece of ammunition for a firearm that contains magnesium or another flammable substance) · fi markkeri (A chemical used to track the progress or history of a natural process)