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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.

See Examples For:

Police said surveillance had been intensified in the area as officers sought to track down those who fled.

From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026

For this essay, I used it to track down a magazine article I dimly remembered reading almost 40 years ago.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

She said by bringing forces together and making better use of technology the new team would track down offenders faster and disrupt gangs.

From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026

Jeers to airlines and hotels that make it too hard to track down receipts.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026

But to complete it, he had to track, down the current holder of that position, which he failed to do, as you know.

From "Shadowshaper" by Daniel José Older

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