spoor

[ spoor, spawr, spohr ]

noun

1. a track or trail, especially that of a wild animal pursued as game.

verb (used with or without object)

1. to track by or follow a spoor.

spoor

/ spʊə; spɔː /

noun

1. the trail of an animal or person, esp as discernible to the human eye

verb

1. to track (an animal) by following its trail

Derived Forms

• ˈspoorer, noun

Other Words From

• spoorer noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of spoor¹

1815–25; < Afrikaans spoor < Dutch; cognate with Old English, Old Norse spor, German Spur; speer

Word History and Origins

Origin of spoor¹

C19: from Afrikaans, from Middle Dutch spor; related to Old English spor track, Old High German spor; see spur

Example Sentences

Volcanoes some distance away from here left behind some sturdy volcanic rock, but also this spoor of volcanic ash that drifted underwater before the PV Peninsula became itself.

From Los Angeles Times

He said he could smell the mould from outside the house and "you could see the black spoors in the air" inside.

From BBC

Mr. Frank’s photographs — of lone individuals, teenage couples, groups at funerals and odd spoors of cultural life — were cinematic, immediate, off-kilter and grainy, like early television transmissions of the period.

From New York Times

The former crime scene is still a windswept field studded with cacti and criss-crossed by antelope spoor.

From BBC

To that end the team is being trained to follow the spoor of lions, look for poachers’ footprints, and remove snares and poisoned carcasses before lions feed on them.

From National Geographic