Meanings
nountrace element (plural trace elements)
plural trace elements
- chemistryA chemical element present in a sample in very small quantities.
- nutritionbiochemistryA chemical element in an organism’s diet that is required in very small amounts in order to maintain proper biochemical function.
Synonyms: micronutrient, micromineral, microelement · Antonyms: nutrient, macronutrient, electrolyte
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA chemical element in an organism’s diet that is required in very small amounts in order to maintain proper biochemical function.
Opposite
Also see
Origin
Compound of trace (“very small amount”) + element (“chemical element”).
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Catalan oligoelement
- oligoelementchemical element in an organism’s diet
Chinese Mandarin 稀有元素, 微量元素
- 稀有元素 (xīyǒu yuánsù)chemical element in an organism’s diet
- 微量元素 (wēiliàng yuánsù)chemical element in an organism’s diet
Czech stopový prvek
- stopový prvekchemical element in an organism’s diet
Danish sporstof
- sporstofchemical element in an organism’s diet
Dutch sporenelement
- sporenelementchemical element in an organism’s diet
Finnish hivenaine
- hivenainechemical element in an organism’s diet
French oligo-élément
- oligo-élémentchemical element in an organism’s diet
German Spurenelement
- Spurenelementchemical element in an organism’s diet
Greek Ιχνοστοιχείο
- Ιχνοστοιχείο (Ichnostoicheío)chemical element in an organism’s diet
Italian oligoelemento
- oligoelementochemical element in an organism’s diet
Māori pūmotu waiwai
- pūmotu waiwaichemical element in an organism’s diet
Norwegian Bokmål sporstoff
- sporstoffchemical element in an organism’s diet
Romanian oligoelement
- oligoelementchemical element in an organism’s diet
Russian микроэлеме́нт
- микроэлеме́нт (mikroelemént)chemical element in an organism’s diet
Spanish oligoelemento, microelemento
- oligoelementochemical element in an organism’s diet
- microelementochemical element in an organism’s diet
Cite this entry
APA
trace element. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/trace%20element
MLA
“trace element.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/trace%20element. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “trace element,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/trace%20element.
Source: trace element on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.