retrace
retrace — 動詞
- retracepresent simple I / you / we / they
- retraceshe / she / it
- retracedpast simple
- retracing-ing form
1. to go back along the exact path or route that you came by, especially in order t
折返
沿原路走回原地
to go back along the exact path or route that you came by, especially in order to return to a place or to find something you passed along the way.
After reaching the end of the trail, Hugo retraced his steps back to the parking lot.
Hugo 走到步道盡頭後，又沿原路折返回停車場。
fixed phrase: 'retrace your steps'
Elena realized she had lost her wallet and retraced her route through the busy market.
Elena 發現錢包不見了，便沿原路穿過熱鬧的市場往回走。
collocation: retrace + route/path/trail
The old dog retraced the familiar path through the park to the bench where its owner always sat.
那隻老狗沿著熟悉的小徑穿過公園，走回主人經常坐的那張長椅。
We had gone too far north, so we retraced our steps to the last fork in the road.
我們走得太北邊了，於是折返回剛才的那個岔路口。
- go back
more general and less formal; does not necessarily mean following the exact same path
- backtrack
implies turning back because of a mistake or obstacle, often with a sense of frustration
- reverse course
more formal or technical; used in navigation or planning contexts
- go forward
to continue ahead rather than turn back
- advance
to move forward in a planned direction
文法句型
retrace your steps
retrace a route/path/trail
用法筆記
The phrase 'retrace your steps' is the most common and idiomatic use of this sense. The object is typically a physical path, route, or trail — not a person or vehicle.
常見錯誤
2. to repeat a series of actions, movements, or events in the same order, either yo
重現
重複之前做過的行動
to repeat a series of actions, movements, or events in the same order, either your own or someone else's, usually in order to understand what happened or to find something that was lost.
Yasmin retraced her morning routine in her mind, trying to remember where she had left the keys.
Yasmin 在腦中重現自己早上的例行程序，努力回想鑰匙放在哪裡了。
pattern: retrace + actions in one's mind
The detective asked the security guard to retrace the route he had taken through the building that night.
警探請保全人員重新走一遍他當晚在大樓內走過的路線。
Kenji retraced every phone call he had made that week, looking for a conversation that might explain the problem.
Kenji 重現了那一週打過的每一通電話，想找出哪一通對話可能解釋了問題所在。
Before reporting the error to the manager, Putri retraced the steps she had followed while entering the data.
Putri 在向主管報告錯誤之前，重新做了一遍自己輸入資料的每一個步驟。
- reconstruct
focuses on building a complete picture from pieces, not necessarily in sequential order
- go over
less formal, more general; can mean to check or review rather than follow exactly
- reenact
to perform again as a deliberate reproduction, often for demonstration purposes
文法句型
retrace + actions/steps
retrace + events
retrace + someone's + steps/movements
用法筆記
The object can be mental (retrace in your mind) or physical (retrace actual movements). This sense often overlaps with 'reconstruct' — the difference is that retrace focuses on following the order of actions, while reconstruct focuses on rebuilding an explanation.
常見錯誤
3. to make the same long journey that someone else made in the past, often to under
重走
複製他人走過的旅程
to make the same long journey that someone else made in the past, often to understand what they experienced or to honour their memory.
Noor decided to retrace her grandmother's journey from Istanbul to Berlin in the 1960s.
Noor 決定重走祖母在一九六〇年代從伊斯坦堡到柏林的路線。
The historian retraced the route of the 1849 Gold Rush across the American West.
那位歷史學家重走了一八四九年淘金熱橫跨美國西部的路線。
Cole and his brother retraced the cycling trip their father had taken through the Alps forty years earlier.
Cole 和哥哥重走了父親四十年前騎單車穿越阿爾卑斯山的旅程。
A group of students retraced the migration route of the Cherokee people as part of their history project.
一群學生為了歷史專題，重走了切羅基族的遷徙路線。
文法句型
retrace + journey/route/trip
retrace + someone's + journey/route/trip
4. to think back over past events, conversations, or experiences in a careful and d
回想
在腦中仔細回憶
to think back over past events, conversations, or experiences in a careful and detailed way, going through them in order to remember them clearly.
As he sat by the window, Arjun retraced the key moments of his childhood in his mind.
Arjun 坐在窗邊，在腦中回想自己童年的重要時刻。
pattern: retrace + events + in one's mind
Elena lay awake retracing the conversation she had had with her manager that afternoon, wondering what she should have said.
Elena 躺在床上一遍遍回想下午與經理的談話，心想自己當時應該說什麼才對。
Brandon retraced the events of the party, trying to piece together how the vase had broken.
Brandon 仔細回想派對上發生的事情，試著拼湊出花瓶是怎麼破的。
Chiara retraced the history of the old house through the stories her grandfather had told her.
Chiara 透過祖父告訴她的故事，細細回想那棟老房子的歷史。
- recall
to remember; a simpler, more common word that does not imply going through things in order
- reconstruct
to piece together from fragments; implies more effort to fill gaps in memory
- revisit
can mean to think about again, often with a sense of emotional return rather than careful reconstruction
- forget
to no longer have something in your memory
文法句型
retrace + events/past/history
retrace + conversation/discussion
retrace in + possessive + mind/head
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 1 (RETRACE YOUR STEPS) — sense 1 is about physical movement along a path, while this sense is about mental reconstruction of past events. The phrase 'retrace in your mind' signals this abstract sense.
常見錯誤
5. to discover the origin, source, or early history of something by examining clues
追溯
回溯找出起源或來由
to discover the origin, source, or early history of something by examining clues and going back through the steps that led to it.
The research team retraced the origins of the outbreak to a single contaminated water well.
研究團隊將疫情的起源追溯至一口受汙染的水井。
pattern: retrace + origins + to + source
Tamar retraced her family's history through old letters and photographs back to a small village in southern Italy.
Tamar 透過舊書信和照片，將家族歷史追溯至義大利南部的一個小村莊。
collocation: retrace + history
Linguists retraced the development of the word through several languages to its ancient root.
語言學家追溯了這個詞經過數種語言的演變，直到其古老的詞根。
The journalist retraced the source of the leaked documents to a clerk in the government office.
記者將洩漏文件的來源追溯至政府辦公室的一名職員。
- trace
more common and slightly broader; can mean to find something by following signs without going backwards
- track down
more informal; implies successful discovery after a search
- pinpoint
focuses on identifying an exact location or moment, not the process of following steps back
文法句型
retrace + origin/source/history
retrace + someone's + movements/whereabouts
retrace back to + origin
用法筆記
This sense is common in academic, journalistic, and investigative writing. The goal is usually to identify a starting point (origin, source, root) rather than to repeat a sequence. The verb is typically followed by a prepositional phrase beginning with 'to' that states the discovered origin.