without a trace; completely gone
Used when something disappears entirely, leaving no physical or visible evidence behind. Often used with verbs like 消える, なくなる, or 去る.
The culprit vanished without a trace.
The snow had melted away completely by morning.
Standard kanji spelling.
Variant with 無く instead of なく; slightly more formal or emphatic.
From 跡形 (trace, vestige) + も (even) + なく (adverbial form of ない, not exist). Literally 'even a trace not existing'.