🔙 To retrace steps 🔙 A return path

backtrail

6.7

A path someone already walked to get back the same way

noun
/ˈbækˌtreɪl/

: ruta de regreso

After getting lost, she decided to follow her backtrail to find her way home.

Examples

Me and Loonie will keep an eye or two on our backtrail." Lem nodded but said nothing.

Fiction book (1994)
The hiker paused to examine his backtrail for any signs of wildlife before continuing on.
He marked several spots along his backtrail to remember where he had been earlier.

Synonyms

path

vsbacktrail

969 1.0

A way or track that people and things move along for travel

is a route already traveled when retracing one's steps

pathway

vsbacktrail

39 2.7

A track made by people or animals that is worn down

is a route someone has already taken to retrace steps

How Easy

road

∞ 1.0

backtrail

6.7

path

969 1.0

track

∞ 2.2

trail

318 1.6

trace

492 3.3

Surface Forms

backtrail singular

backtrails plural

Morphology

backtrail = back + trail (transparent) = back + trail

The meaning is directly recoverable from the clear combination of 'back' + 'trail' (a trail taken back), a straightforward compound.

Etymology

The word backtrail joins two simple English words, back ('return' or 'behind') and trail ('a path' or 'tracks'). So a backtrail is the path you have already walked and can follow to get back.