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Glite Dictionary
🔙 To trace backward 🧑‍💻 A call list
to backtrace

to backtrace

2 7.2
To follow program steps backward to find the first error
  • verb
  • /ˈbækˌtreɪs/
translation icon : retroceder
  • The detective was able to backtrace the suspect's movements to find out where he had gone.

Examples

  • They want to backtrace his code so they can figure out how he broke his programming.

    Atlas (2024)

  • I'll really go get my dad right now to backtrace your computer.

    Blog text (30)

  • Why not backtrace the serial numbers of the parts recovered in the Pentagon to the plane that hit the building?

    Blog text (16)

  • And they're also crazy if they don't realize just how much power a sharp-thinking I.T. person or Security Analyst has when it comes to backtracing a leak.

    Blog text (5)

  • To solve the mystery, the programmer decided to backtrace the errors in the code that caused the system to crash.

  • She learned how to backtrace the steps of her calculations to identify where she made a mistake.

Synonyms

to trace
vsto backtrace
455 3.3

To follow and find where something began

narrows this to stepping backward through a process to find a fault
to backtrack
vsto backtrace
42 4.3

To go back along the same route you have just taken

traces earlier process steps with the goal of finding a problem source
to retrace
vsto backtrace
31 4.2

To go back along the same route you already took

tracks prior process steps specifically to find where a problem began
to retrace one's steps
vsto backtrace
15 4.3

To go back the same way you came to find something you lost

follows earlier process steps to locate the origin of a problem
to trace the origins
vsto backtrace
3 5.1

Find where something began or came from

does the same but by stepping back through process actions to trace cause
to work back
vsto backtrace
1 5.1

To plan or check earlier steps by working backwards from a deadline

is similar but focuses on finding a problem origin rather than planning
to backcast
vsto backtrace
  • Specialized
9.1

To use current models to estimate past events

instead follows actual prior process steps to find where a problem started

How Thorough

to investigate
∞ 2.8
to backtrace
2 7.2
to retrace
31 4.2
to trace
455 3.3
to check
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

backtrace infinitive
backtraced past
backtraced past participle
backtracing present participle
backtraces third person singular

Morphology

backtrace = trace (transparent) = back + trace

Verb formed by adding 'back' to 'trace' meaning to trace backwards; this is a direct and productive formation understandable to learners.

Etymology

Backtrace as a verb comes from the parts back and trace, meaning to 'follow' a path backward. Think of tracing footprints back to their start; to backtrace a problem is to follow each step in reverse to find the original cause.