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

The 49ers were in man-to-man coverage and lost track of the Chargers quarterback.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

Signs Honda are on the right track are what Alonso has been looking for as he ponders whether to stay in the sport beyond the end of the season.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026

But consumers were still wary of buying things like clothing and home goods, and management said the latter category was at the start of “a multiyear journey” to get back on track.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 2026

"The iron horse wants to run," a sign reads, alongside a phrase in English: "We want to be back on track."

From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026

Treebaun progressed quickly through each student’s recap and repercussion track, and I watched a botched Kennedy assassination simulation, a Watergate mess, and a rather iffy situation involving Ben Franklin, but none of them were Elliot’s.

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin

The radar site is part of a network that tracks aircraft operating in Alaska’s airspace and along its borders, the military said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

Along the disused line from Woljeong-ri towards Baengmagoji station to the south -- the section to be restored under the peace project -- vegetation crowds both sides of the tracks, nearly swallowing a stone wall.

From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026

By all accounts, the project is 99.6% complete — drivers in the LAX loop today can spot the people mover cars doing test runs on the tracks.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026

He insisted the railway was safe, and that Network Rail took various measures to manage the impact of weather on tracks and other railway equipment.

From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026

It is a noise that stops humans in their tracks, sends shivers up their furless spines.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman

Of the 20,500 tracked by the media outlet, the White House lost at least 17,600, or 85% of the time.

From Salon ● Aug. 21, 2026

Analysts tracked by FactSet expect SK Hynix to deliver around KRW 170 trillion in free cash flow for 2026, versus KRW 25 trillion in 2025.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026

The selloff tracked losses on Wall Street, where firms heavily invested in AI and chips were sharply lower, staunching a recent recovery in the sector in recent weeks following a crushing July.

From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026

Nominal Canadian factory sales rose in 15 of the 21 subsectors tracked, with strong performances from chemicals and transportation equipment.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

Then, at an airport, she heard his name being announced over the loudspeaker, and she tracked him down.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

The panelists’ past work suggests they may recommend that fiscal policy, fighting financial bubbles and tracking the money supply play a larger role in Fed thinking.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

Using a mouse model, the researchers combined several experimental approaches while tracking body weight, food consumption, metabolism, and energy expenditure during semaglutide treatment.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 20, 2026

They first noticed the star in 2023, and have been tracking its orbit since.

From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026

Digital archives of the incident, later compiled in an online documentary tracking his multiyear radicalization, tell the tale.

From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2026

Eventually, they continued on, tracking the odd footprints into the noon hour.

From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray

Related Words

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