🔙 To trace backward 🧑‍💻 A call list

to backtrace

1 7.2

To follow program steps backward to find the first error

verb
/ˈbækˌtreɪs/

: 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

477 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

39 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

30 4.2

To go back along the same route you already took

tracks prior process steps specifically to find where a problem began

to trace the origins

vsto backtrace

4 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

3 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 retrace one's steps

vsto backtrace

1 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 backcast

vsto backtrace

Specialized

1 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

1 7.2

to retrace

30 4.2

to trace

477 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.