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tracing paper
noun
: a semitransparent paper for tracing drawings
also
: a thin paper containing a clothing pattern to be transferred to fabric (as through carbon paper) by tracing
Examples of tracing paper in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Create biodegradable confetti with leaves and a hole punch.
Make botanical art with tracing paper, crayons, and leaves of different shapes.
—
Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 5 Oct. 2024
Always handy with tracing paper and a pencil to guide us to a better place in our drawings.
—
Christian Holub, EW.com, 14 June 2023
Rather than draw on that base plan, cover the base plan with tracing paper and draw on the tracing paper.
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Nan Sterman, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Nov. 2022
An American based in Santiago, Chile, McDowell has grasped the torch passed by luminaries such as Edith Grossman; translation, to invoke Grossman’s famous metaphor, isn’t merely copying one language over another, like tracing paper, but rather an act of creation unto itself.
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Hamilton Cain, Washington Post, 5 Feb. 2023
After 50 hours of penciling and erasing on ever larger sheets of graph paper, Yesley inked the final drawing on sewing tracing paper and turned it over to Weinberg.
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Steve Maas, BostonGlobe.com, 23 Sep. 2022
In one passage, recommendations for a form of tracing paper included paper rubbed with linseed oil or pork fat, the amniotic membrane of a cow’s embryo, or the pericardium of an ox.
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Anthony Grafton, The New York Review of Books, 7 Sep. 2022
Use a pencil, ball point pen, or tracing paper to draw the design on the pumpkin and then get carving.
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Charlyne Mattox, Country Living, 18 Aug. 2022
It’s gray tracing paper, with some instructions for the printer to print the colors.
—
Chris Willman, Variety, 6 Sep. 2021
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Word History
First Known Use
1824, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near tracing paper
Cite this Entry
“Tracing paper.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tracing%20paper. Accessed 10 Feb. 2025.
Kids Definition
tracing paper
noun
: a thin paper through which something (as a picture) may be traced
also
: a thin paper for transferring a clothing pattern to cloth
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