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track down

British  

verb

  1. (tr, adverb) to find by tracking or pursuing

"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

track down Idioms  
  1. Follow successfully, locate, as in I've been trying to track down that book but haven't had any luck. This term alludes to the literal use of track, “follow the footsteps of.” [Second half of 1800s]


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

His mission was to track down American traitors who had aided the Italian and Nazi war efforts.

From The Wall Street Journal

Notably - from tracking down some of the original posts and speaking to people within the social media companies - there appears to have been only a modest reaction among young people when the posts first appeared.

From BBC

A single case of measles requires public health workers to track down 200 potential contacts, Ferrer said.

From Los Angeles Times

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said later that while the operation did not yield any traces of Arad, Israel's commitment to tracking down all its missing servicemen remained "absolute and permanent".

From Barron's

By Your Side follows Linda Standish, a council worker in the unclaimed heirs unit who investigates the lives of people who have died alone and attempts to track down any surviving relatives.

From BBC