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track
[ trak ]
/ træk /
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noun
a structure consisting of a pair of parallel lines of rails with their crossties, on which a railroad train, trolley, or the like runs.
a wheel rut.
evidence, as a mark or a series of marks, that something has passed.
Usually tracks . footprints or other marks left by an animal, person, or vehicle: a lion's tracks; car tracks.
a path made or beaten by or as if by the feet of people or animals; trail: to follow the track of a murderer.
a line of travel or motion: the track of a bird.
a course or route followed.
a course of action, conduct, or procedure: on the right track to solve the problem.
a path or course made or laid out for some particular purpose.
a series or sequence of events or ideas.
something associated with making a track, as the wheel span of a vehicle or the tread of a tire.
a caterpillar tread.
Sports.
- a course laid out for running or racing.
- the group of sports performed on such a course, as running or hurdling, as distinguished from field events.
- both track and field events as a whole.
Recording.
- a band of recorded sound laid along the length of a magnetic tape.
- band2 (def. 6).
- an individual song or segment of a recording: a title track.
- 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.
Automotive. the distance between the centers of the treads of either the front or rear wheels of a vehicle.
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.
tracks, Slang. needle marks on the arm, leg, or body of a drug user caused by habitual injections.
sound track.
a metal strip or rail along which something, as lighting or a curtain, can be mounted or moved.
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.
verb (used with object)
to follow or pursue the track, traces, or footprints of.
to follow (a track, course, etc.).
to make one's way through; traverse.
to leave footprints on (often followed by up or on): to track the floor with muddy shoes.
to make a trail of footprints with (dirt, snow, or the like): The dog tracked mud all over the living room rug.
to observe or monitor the course or path of (an aircraft, rocket, satellite, star, etc.), as by radar or radio signals.
to observe or follow the course of progress of; keep track of.
to furnish with a track or tracks, as for railroad trains.
Railroads. to have (a certain distance) between wheels, runners, rails, etc.
verb (used without object)
to follow or pursue a track or trail.
to run in the same track, as the wheels of a vehicle.
to be in alignment, as one gearwheel with another.
to have a specified span between wheels or runners: The car's wheels track about five feet.
Movies, Television. dolly (def. 12).
Recording. to follow the undulations in the grooves of a phonograph record.
Verb Phrases
track down, to pursue until caught or captured; follow: to track down a killer.
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Idioms about track
in one's tracks, Informal. 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.
keep track, to be aware; keep informed: Have you been keeping track of the time?
lose track, to fail to keep informed; neglect to keep a record: He soon lost track of how much money he had spent.
make tracks, Informal. to go or depart in a hurry: to make tracks for the store before closing time.
off the track, departing from the objective or the subject at hand; astray: He can't tell a story without getting off the track.
on the track of, in search or pursuit of; close upon: They are on the track of a solution to the problem.
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.
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
OTHER WORDS FROM track
track·a·ble, adjectivetrack·a·bil·i·ty, nountracker, nounmul·ti·track, verb (used with object)
re·track, verbun·track·a·ble, adjective
WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH track
track , tractWords nearby track
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use track in a sentence
She was accepted at Spelman College, got back on track, and ended up enrolling at Cal Poly Pomona.
Morning Report: Lincoln Abruptly Canceled AP Class|Voice of San Diego|September 17, 2020|Voice of San DiegoPotts, who had been training for an Ironman triathlon, remembers keeping track of the time on her heart monitor watch.
The Woman Propositioned by Alaska’s Former Lieutenant Governor Tells Her Story for the First Time|by Kyle Hopkins and Michelle Theriault Boots, Anchorage Daily News|September 10, 2020|ProPublicaClicks, ecommerce transactions, or goals are the way businesses keep track of them.
SEO proposals: Particular challenges and how to avoid getting a silent no|SEOmonitor|September 10, 2020|Search Engine WatchThe digital yuan is on track to be the world’s first sovereign digital currency and is currently in pilot mode with four state-owned commercial banks.
San Diego Unified’s decision-making and the metrics the district tracks can have a huge ripple effect.
The County Is Rethinking a Major Coronavirus Trigger|Will Huntsberry|September 9, 2020|Voice of San DiegoIf you answered nine or more, you may have won a SONY Betamax and an eight-track operating system.
Workers built a temporary rail track through the city to move the statue in a process that took three days.
I was there to track down the family of one of the most notorious defectors in Cuban history.
The Life and Hard Times Of The Family A Cuban Defector Left Behind|Brin-Jonathan Butler|December 19, 2014|DAILY BEASTIt looks like Amazon is on track to get additional Pentagon contracts as well.
Its inclusion in Record of the Year is on track with the recent trend of all nominees being chart-toppers.
10 Biggest Grammy Award Snubs and Surprises: Meghan Trainor, Miley Cyrus & More|Kevin Fallon|December 5, 2014|DAILY BEASTSuddenly, however, he became aware of a small black spot far ahead in the very middle of the unencumbered track.
The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol|William J. LockeNo trail was so obtuse, no thicket so dense that members of that regiment would not track them to their lair.
The Courier of the Ozarks|Byron A. DunnWe are so many around here that you'll have to get paper and pencil and mark us down to keep track of how many.
The Homesteader|Oscar MicheauxThe print of steel-rimmed hoofs showed in the soft loam as plainly as a moccasin-track in virgin snow.
Raw Gold|Bertrand W. SinclairTrack of the count may be kept by placing a mark for each leukocyte in its appropriate column, ruled upon paper.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
British Dictionary definitions for track
track
/ (træk) /
noun
the mark or trail left by something that has passed bythe track of an animal
any road or path affording passage, esp a rough one
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
a course of action, thought, etcdon't start on that track again!
a line of motion or travel, such as flight
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
physics the path of a particle of ionizing radiation as observed in a cloud chamber, bubble chamber, or photographic emulsion
- a course for running or racing
- (as modifier)track events
US and Canadian
- sports performed on a track
- track and field events as a whole
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
any of a number of separate sections in the recording on a record, CD, or cassette
a metal path that makes the interconnections on an integrated circuit
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
a hypothetical trace made on the surface of the earth by a point directly below an aircraft in flight
keep track of to follow the passage, course, or progress of
lose track of to fail to follow the passage, course, or progress of
off the beaten track See beaten (def. 4)
off the track away from what is correct or true
on the track of on the scent or trail of; pursuing
the right track the correct line of investigation, inquiry, etc
the wrong track the incorrect line of investigation, inquiry, etc
verb
to follow the trail of (a person, animal, etc)
to follow the flight path of (a satellite, spacecraft, etc) by picking up radio or radar signals transmitted or reflected by it
US railways
- to provide with a track
- to run on a track of (a certain width)
(of a camera or camera operator) to follow (a moving object) in any direction while operating
to move (a camera) towards the scene (track in) or away from the scene (track out)
to follow a track through (a place)to track the jungles
(intr) (of the pick-up, stylus, etc, of a record player) to follow the groove of a recordthe pick-up tracks badly
See also tracks
Derived forms of track
trackable, adjectivetracker, nounWord Origin for track
C15: from Old French trac, probably of Germanic origin; related to Middle Dutch tracken to pull, Middle Low German trecken; compare Norwegian trakke to trample
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with track
track
In addition to the idioms beginning with track
- track down
- track record
also see:
- 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
- one-track mind
- on the right tack (track)
- right side of the tracks
- stop cold (in one's tracks)
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.