track

American  

[trak] / træk /

noun

• tracks
  plural

1. a structure consisting of a pair of parallel lines of rails with their crossties, on which a railroad train, trolley, or the like runs.

2. a wheel rut.

3. evidence, as a mark or a series of marks, that something has passed.

   Synonyms:

   spoor, record, trace

4. Usually tracks footprints or other marks left by an animal, person, or vehicle.

   a lion's tracks; car tracks.

5. a path made or beaten by or as if by the feet of people or animals; trail.

   to follow the track of a murderer.

6. a line of travel or motion.

   the track of a bird.

7. a course or route followed.

8. a course of action, conduct, or procedure.

   on the right track to solve the problem.

9. a path or course made or laid out for some particular purpose.

10. a series or sequence of events or ideas.

11. something associated with making a track, as the wheel span of a vehicle or the tread of a tire.

12. a caterpillar tread.

13. Sports.

    1. a course laid out for running or racing.

    2. the group of sports performed on such a course, as running or hurdling, as distinguished from field events.

    3. both track and field events as a whole.

14. Recording.

    1. a band of recorded sound laid along the length of a magnetic tape.

    2. band.

    3. an individual song or segment of a recording.

       a title track.

    4. a discrete, separate recording that is combined with other parts of a musical recording to produce the final aural version.

       a special rhythm track added to the basic track.

15. Automotive. the distance between the centers of the treads of either the front or rear wheels of a vehicle.

16. Computers. a data-recording path on a storage medium, as a magnetic disk, tape, or drum, that is accessible to a read-write head in a given position as the medium moves past.

17. Slang. tracks, needle marks on the arm, leg, or body of a drug user caused by habitual injections.

18. sound track.

19. a metal strip or rail along which something, as lighting or a curtain, can be mounted or moved.

20. Education. a study program or level of curriculum to which a student is assigned on the basis of aptitude or need; academic course or path.

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verb (used with object)

• tracks,
  present (3rd person singular)
• tracked,
  past participle,  past
• tracking
  present participle

1. to follow or pursue the track, traces, or footprints of.

   Synonyms:

   hunt, stalk

2. to follow (a track, course, etc.).

3. to make one's way through; traverse.

4. to leave footprints on (often followed by up oron ).

   to track the floor with muddy shoes.

5. to make a trail of footprints with (dirt, snow, or the like).

   The dog tracked mud all over the living room rug.

6. to observe or monitor the course or path of (an aircraft, rocket, satellite, star, etc.), as by radar or radio signals.

7. to observe or follow the course of progress of; keep track of.

8. to furnish with a track or tracks, as for railroad trains.

9. Railroads. to have (a certain distance) between wheels, runners, rails, etc.

verb (used without object)

• tracks,
  present (3rd person singular)
• tracked,
  past participle,  past
• tracking
  present participle

1. to follow or pursue a track or trail.

2. to run in the same track, as the wheels of a vehicle.

3. to be in alignment, as one gearwheel with another.

4. to have a specified span between wheels or runners.

   The car's wheels track about five feet.

5. Movies, Television. dolly.

6. Recording. to follow the undulations in the grooves of a phonograph record.

verb phrase

1. track down to pursue until caught or captured; follow.

   to track down a killer.

idioms

1. lose track, to fail to keep informed; neglect to keep a record.

   He soon lost track of how much money he had spent.

2. make tracks, to go or depart in a hurry.

   to make tracks for the store before closing time.

3. keep track, to be aware; keep informed.

   Have you been keeping track of the time?

4. on the track of, in search or pursuit of; close upon.

   They are on the track of a solution to the problem.

5. in one's tracks, in the spot in which one is or is standing at the moment.

   He stopped dead in his tracks, listening for the sound to be repeated.

6. off the track, departing from the objective or the subject at hand; astray.

   He can't tell a story without getting off the track.

7. on the wrong / right side of the tracks, from a poor or wealthy part of a community or of society.

   born on the wrong side of the tracks.

track British  

/ træk /

noun

1. the mark or trail left by something that has passed by

   the track of an animal

2. any road or path affording passage, esp a rough one

3. a rail or pair of parallel rails on which a vehicle, such as a locomotive, runs, esp the rails together with the sleepers, ballast, etc, on a railway

4. a course of action, thought, etc

   don't start on that track again!

5. a line of motion or travel, such as flight

6. an endless jointed metal band driven by the wheels of a vehicle such as a tank or tractor to enable it to move across rough or muddy ground

7. physics the path of a particle of ionizing radiation as observed in a cloud chamber, bubble chamber, or photographic emulsion

8. 1. a course for running or racing

   2. ( as modifier )

      track events

9. 1. sports performed on a track

   2. track and field events as a whole

10. a path on a magnetic recording medium, esp magnetic tape, on which information, such as music or speech, from a single input channel is recorded

11. any of a number of separate sections in the recording on a record, CD, or cassette

12. a metal path that makes the interconnections on an integrated circuit

13. the distance between the points of contact with the ground of a pair of wheels, such as the front wheels of a motor vehicle or the paired wheels of an aircraft undercarriage

14. a hypothetical trace made on the surface of the earth by a point directly below an aircraft in flight

15. to follow the passage, course, or progress of

16. to fail to follow the passage, course, or progress of

17. See beaten

18. away from what is correct or true

19. on the scent or trail of; pursuing

20. the correct line of investigation, inquiry, etc

21. the incorrect line of investigation, inquiry, etc

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verb

1. to follow the trail of (a person, animal, etc)

2. to follow the flight path of (a satellite, spacecraft, etc) by picking up radio or radar signals transmitted or reflected by it

3. railways

   1. to provide with a track

   2. to run on a track of (a certain width)

4. (of a camera or camera operator) to follow (a moving object) in any direction while operating

5. to move (a camera) towards the scene ( track in ) or away from the scene ( track out )

6. to follow a track through (a place)

   to track the jungles

7. (intr) (of the pick-up, stylus, etc, of a record player) to follow the groove of a record

   the pick-up tracks badly

track More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing track

• cover one's tracks
• drop in one's tracks
• fast track
• follow in someone's footsteps (tracks)
• inside track
• jump the track
• keep (lose) track
• make tracks
• off the beaten track
• off the track
• on the right tack (track)
• one-track mind
• right side of the tracks
• stop cold (in one's tracks)

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• trackability
  noun
• tracker
  noun
• retrack
  verb
• multitrack
  verb (used with object)
• trackable
  adjective
• untrackable
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• tracks
  plural

Participles

• tracking
  present
• tracked
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• track
  simple
• tracks
  simple
• have tracked
  perfect
• has tracked
  perfect
• am tracking
  progressive
• are tracking
  progressive
• is tracking
  progressive
• have been tracking
  perfect progressive
• has been tracking
  perfect progressive

Past

• tracked
  simple
• had tracked
  perfect
• was tracking
  progressive
• were tracking
  progressive
• had been tracking
  perfect progressive

Future

• will track
  simple
• will have tracked
  perfect
• will be tracking
  progressive
• will have been tracking
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of track

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English noun trak, tracke, from Old French trac, perhaps of Germanic origin; compare Old Norse trathk “trodden spot,” Norwegian trakke “to trample”; akin to tread

Explanation

If you document your study time and record all your exam scores, then you track your progress in school. In this case the verb track shows that you're following the path of something. The noun track can refer to a path of a more literal kind. The noun track can describe a variety of paths, such as the rails that trains chug along, a course that racehorses run, or the big oval course in an ice rink. If you're competing in a five-lap race and you have the fastest speed after the first four laps, you're on track to win the race. In this case the term "on track" is describing a figurative path, one that indicates you're in a good position to achieve what you want.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

track tracks tracked tracking

This year, the RealReal introduced an AI feature called MyCloset that lets users track the value of all their clothing.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026

On Thursday, the athlete issued an apology on Instagram, saying she regrets not stepping off the track.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

The verdict from fans remains to be seen, but Resident Evil looks to be on track to have a successful opening weekend at the box office.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

Global climate models cannot track every one of the vast number of relatively small floes covering the Arctic.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026

I was going to have to find a way of marking time if I wanted to keep track.

From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo

The camera also transmits the sound of the engine and the tracks, providing clues to the operator when the dozer is straining to move a heavy load or slogging through rough terrain.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026

PeakMetrics, a startup that tracks online discussions, introduced a service monitoring how brands show up in outputs by gen AI chatbots.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

She also showed Scheller her “white bag” playlist — a collection of indie, rock and alternative tracks she loved as a teenager, from Incubus to Deftones to the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026

From Friday, those tracks, plus another five unreleased songs that came Palao's way after the initial discovery, will be available to buy and stream.

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

And just past that, they saw tracks diverge from the road down to the river.

From "Mountain of Fire" by Rebecca E. F. Barone

He tracked Chávez down to learn more about his efforts.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026

Both state-backed and independent pollsters have tracked flagging approval ratings for the Russian leader and the war—even though they still show a level of support that would be unusual for any Western leader.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

The biggest predictor of longevity and happiness is the quality of our relationships, according to the Study of Adult Development, which has tracked participants and their descendants for nearly 90 years.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026

Not long after Oxford’s confession, authorities tracked down Travis, who was in jail for an unrelated warrant in Boulder, Colorado, and had him extradited to Oklahoma.

From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026

We’ve tracked the starting positions on every message that’s come since midnight, charting the results on a sheet on the wall in Hut 6.

From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin

"You cannot fix what you are not tracking."

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

The Russell 2000 index of smaller stocks added more than 0.5%, while an index tracking the railroads, airlines and trucks transporting the goods and raw materials that power the U.S. economy climbed 0.5%.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

By combining the observations and tracking how the object moved over time, the team determined that it behaved much more like a planet orbiting the star than an imaging artifact or a distant background star.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 17, 2026

There were 58% more home sellers than buyers in the market in August, real-estate brokerage Redfin estimated, the largest gap since it began tracking the data in 2013.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026

He looked like a prince from a fairy tale, and Ophie noticed that he did not wear the house shoes like she and her mother did, instead tracking dirty snow slush across the carpets.

From "Ophie's Ghosts" by Justina Ireland

Related Words

• course
• highway
• lane
• line
• rail
• road
• roadway
• route
• street
• trail