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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.

Their goal was to track down Florida's near-daily summer thunderstorms and observe a phenomenon that had never been confirmed outside a laboratory.

From Science Daily • Apr. 21, 2026

Between her pastoral work and her activism on the ground, she wasn’t easy to track down.

From Salon • Apr. 6, 2026

They helped confirm the accuracy of stories, and track down celebrities for a response.

From BBC • Mar. 31, 2026

It’s all part of Underwood’s plan to track down the best basketball players in the world—anywhere in the world—and unleash them on the heartland of college basketball.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 25, 2026

First thing to do was go online and track down my dad.

From "Endangered" by Eliot Schrefer