rhizoverbBeta
DictionaryspoorAnimal trail
noun / verb

spoor

SPOOR/spʊr/

Traces left by an animal, or following an animal by those traces.

The deer's spoor forms a trail of cloven hoofprints through the mud.

A clear trail of fresh deer hoofprints pressed into soft mud, leading toward a deer walking away.
Etymology
spoorAfrikaanstrack, trace

Afrikaans spoor means “track” or “trace”: the evidence an animal leaves behind. The English sense includes both a visible track and a scent that can be followed.

In context

Old Time Radio Researchers22:17
the spoor led him across most of Bloomsbury by the British Museum then down Fleet Street
Tarzan Lord of the Jungle - Tarzan and the Long Journey

More examples

  • We found deer spoor along the creek.
  • The tracker spoors a leopard through the brush.
  • Rain has washed away most of the spoor.

Forms

spoor · spoors · spoored · spooring

Similar words

track
As a noun, often means a footprint rather than other traces.
trail
Emphasizes a continuous path rather than individual animal signs.
trace
Is broader and need not come from an animal.