paper trail
noun
: documents (such as financial records) from which a person's actions may be traced or opinions learned
Examples of paper trail in a Sentence
They covered up the fraud and were careful not to leave a paper trail.
Recent Examples on the Web
Every ballot, whether cast in person or absentee, has a paper trail that allows election officials to perform post-election audits on a subset of voting equipment.
—
David Sivak, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 8 Sep. 2024
The United States also uncovered a paper trail of documents from 2007 and 2008 attesting to that fact.
—William McCants, Foreign Affairs, 10 Sep. 2014
But tenants’ rights groups and lawyers said court cases, the only public paper trail of evictions, don’t show the complete picture.
—Nick Grube, ProPublica, 14 Aug. 2024
The responsibility also falls on you to keep records, rather than automatically having an electronic paper trail.
—Becca Stanek, theweek, 2 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for paper trail 
David Sivak, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 8 Sep. 2024
The United States also uncovered a paper trail of documents from 2007 and 2008 attesting to that fact.
—William McCants, Foreign Affairs, 10 Sep. 2014
But tenants’ rights groups and lawyers said court cases, the only public paper trail of evictions, don’t show the complete picture.
—Nick Grube, ProPublica, 14 Aug. 2024
The responsibility also falls on you to keep records, rather than automatically having an electronic paper trail.
—Becca Stanek, theweek, 2 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for paper trail
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'paper trail.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Paper trail.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/paper%20trail. Accessed 19 Sep. 2024.
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