trace

Compared meaning: following a path to find something (verb).

比较义项：追踪、追溯路径或来源（动词）。

• trace 本词

  Broader and investigative: follow evidence or clues to find the origin, source, or whereabouts of something, not necessarily by walking a route you already know.

  范围更广，且带有调查意味：通过线索或证据去发现某事物的来源、起源或下落，不一定是自己走过的路线。

  The team traced the outbreak back to a single contaminated well.

  调查小组追溯疫情的源头，发现是一口被污染的水井。

• retrace

  Narrower: go back over a path or journey you (or someone) already traveled, usually to return the way you came or to search for something lost along it.

  范围更窄：沿着自己（或某人）已经走过的路线或行程往回走，通常是为了原路返回，或沿路寻找丢失的东西。

  She retraced her exact route from the airport to the hotel to look for her lost passport.

  她沿着从机场到酒店的原路走了一遍，寻找丢失的护照。

Trace and retrace both involve following a path, but differ. Trace means following clues to find the origin or whereabouts of something, not a path you already walked. Retrace means going back over a path you already traveled, to return or find something lost.

这两个词都涉及沿着某条路径行进或调查，但侧重点不同：trace 强调通过线索去发现某事物未知的来源、起源或下落，不一定是自己走过的路；retrace 专指沿着自己（或他人）已经走过的路线或行程原路返回，通常是为了寻找丢失的东西或按原路回去。这里不比较 trace 作名词表示“痕迹”的用法。