diff --git a/test/meson.build b/test/meson.build
index 1704f17..6cdae18 100644
--- a/test/meson.build
+++ b/test/meson.build
@@ -1,3 +1,7 @@
+test_arg = [
+    '-DTEST_TRACE',
+]
+
 # end2end code exerciser for experiment and testing
 subdir('end2end')
 
@@ -6,5 +10,5 @@
 ]
 
 foreach t : tests
-  test(t, executable(t.underscorify(), t + '.cpp'))
+  test(t, executable(t.underscorify(), t + '.cpp', cpp_args : test_arg))
 endforeach