TRACER

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does tracer mean? 

• TRACER (noun)
  The noun TRACER has 4 senses:

1. an investigator who is employed to find missing persons or missing goods

2. an instrument used to make tracings

3. (radiology) any radioactive isotope introduced into the body to study metabolism or other biological processes

4. ammunition whose flight can be observed by a trail of smoke

  Familiarity information: TRACER used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• TRACER (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

An investigator who is employed to find missing persons or missing goods

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("tracer" is a kind of...):

detective; investigator; police detective; tec (a police officer who investigates crimes)

Sense 2

Meaning:

An instrument used to make tracings

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("tracer" is a kind of...):

instrument (a device that requires skill for proper use)

Derivation:

trace (make a mark or lines on a surface)

trace (copy by following the lines of the original drawing on a transparent sheet placed upon it; make a tracing of)

Sense 3

Meaning:

(radiology) any radioactive isotope introduced into the body to study metabolism or other biological processes

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("tracer" is a kind of...):

radioisotope (a radioactive isotope of an element; produced either naturally or artificially)

Domain category:

radiology (the branch of medical science dealing with the medical use of X-rays or other penetrating radiation)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Ammunition whose flight can be observed by a trail of smoke

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

tracer; tracer bullet

Hypernyms ("tracer" is a kind of...):

ammo; ammunition (projectiles to be fired from a gun)

 Context examples 

A radioconjugate containing the tracer PEG6-IPQA labeled with fluorine F 18 for potential tumor imaging using positron emission tomography (PET).

(Fluorine F 18 Fluoro-PEG6-IPQA, NCI Thesaurus)

Upon binding, the fluorine F 18 moiety allows PET imaging of tumor cells and can be used as a tracer for the biodistribution of dasatinib.

(Fluorine F 18 SKI-249380, NCI Thesaurus)

The amino acid analog fluorodopa (FDOPA) labeled with fluorine F 18, a positron-emitting isotope, with potential tumor tracer property.

(Fluorine F 18 Fluorodopa, NCI Thesaurus)

The activity of a tracer injected at the beginning of a scan.

(Injected Dose, NCI Thesaurus)

A radioconjugate composed of choline labeled with the positron-emitting isotope fluorine F 18, with potential tumor tracer activity using positron emission tomography (PET).

(Fluorine F 18 Choline, NCI Thesaurus)

A radioconjugate and glutamine analog consisting of the fluorine F 18 labeled 2S, 4R stereoisomer of 4-fluoroglutamine with potential use as a metabolic tracer for tumor imaging.

(Fluorine F 18 4-L-fluoroglutamine (2S,4R), NCI Thesaurus)

A triazole containing pentapeptide labeled with the positron-emitting isotope fluorine F 18, used as a tracer for positron emitting tomography (PET) imaging.

(Fluorine F 18 CP18 Peptide, NCI Thesaurus)

The Hubble research team, however, used a technique in which they did not need to look for the gravitational influence of stars as tracers of dark matter.

(Cosmic Magnifying Glasses Find Dark Matter in Small Clumps, NASA)

The integrated plasma concentration Cp of a tracer divided by the value of this concentration at the end of the integration time.

(Normalized Time, NCI Thesaurus)

Indium 111-labeled radioconjugates are used as radioactive tracers in nuclear medicine that detect malignant lesions and inflammatory tissues probably due to an increased capillary permeability.

(Indium In-111 Chloride, NCI Thesaurus)