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track

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To track is to monitor the progress of something, to follow behind something or to try to find something. (verb)

An example of track is when you chart your weight.
An example of track is when you follow behind an animal when hunting to try to find the animal.
An example of track is when you search for a criminal.

A track is a specific area on which something is to take place or that has been designed for a specific purpose, like for a train to run along it or for runners to run on. (noun)

An example of a track is a railroad track that a train runs along.
An example of a track is a paved area meant for runners to run on.

See track in Webster's New World College Dictionary

noun

a mark or series of marks or other discoverable evidence left by a person, animal, or thing that has passed, as a footprint, wheel rut, wake of a boat, etc.
a trace or vestige
a beaten path or trail left by the repeated passage of persons, animals, or vehicles
1. a course or line of motion or action; route; way
2. the projection of the flight path of an airplane, rocket, etc. on the surface of the earth
a sequence of ideas, events, etc.; succession
a path or circuit laid out for running, horse racing, etc.
☆ any of the courses of study continuing through succeeding grades in an educational structure (), arranged according to various levels of mastery, to which students are assigned on the basis of test performance, abilities, needs, etc.
a pair of parallel metal rails, with their crossties, etc., on which trains, streetcars, etc. run
☆ the distance between the centers of the tread of parallel wheels, as of an automobile
either of the two endless belts with which tanks, some tractors, etc. are equipped for moving over rough ground
1. the narrow channel, containing lengthwise copper wires or strips carrying electric current, into which track lights are inserted
2. any of various structural channels or grooves, as one that holds a sliding door or window
the tread of an automobile tire
☆
1. athletic sports performed on a track, as running, hurdling, etc.
2. track and field sports together
1. soundtrack
2. any of the separate divisions on a phonograph record, compact disc, etc. containing individual selections
3. any of the separate, parallel recording surfaces extending along the length of a magnetic tape
4. the long continuous spiral groove on a phonograph record in which a stylus moves
5. in a computer, that part of a magnetic drum, tape, or disk that passes under a given reading head position
Film tracking shot

transitive verb

1. to follow the track or footprints of: to track game
2. to follow (a path, etc.)
to trace by means of vestiges, evidence, etc.
to plot the path of and record data from (an aircraft, spacecraft, missile, etc.) using radar, a telescope, etc.
to tread or travel
1. to leave tracks or footprints on (often with up)
2. ☆ to leave in the form of tracks: to track dirt over a floor
☆ to provide with tracks or rails
Film to follow (a moving object or person) with a moving camera

intransitive verb

to run in the same (width) track
to be in alignment, as gears, wheels, or the stylus of a phonograph cartridge with a groove on a record
to have a (specified) width between the wheels: a narrow-gauge car tracks less than 56 inches
Film to track a moving object: said of a camera or its operator

Related Forms:

tracker noun

See track in American Heritage Dictionary 4

(trăk)

noun

a. A mark or succession of marks left by something that has passed.
b. A path, route, or course indicated by such marks: an old wagon track through the mountains.
A path along which something moves; a course: following the track of an airplane on radar.
a. A course of action; a method of proceeding: on the right track for solving the puzzle.
b. An intended or proper course: putting a stalled project back on track.
A succession of ideas; a train of thought.
Awareness of something occurring or passing: keeping track of the score; lost all track of time.
Sports
a. A course laid out for running or racing.
b. Athletic competition on such a course; track events.
c. Track and field.
A rail or set of parallel rails upon which railroad cars or other vehicles run.
tracks The boundary, formerly often delineated by train tracks, that separates two neighborhoods of different social class: grew up on the wrong side of the tracks.
Either of the continuous metal belts with which vehicles such as bulldozers and tanks move over the ground.
A metal groove or ridge that holds, guides, and reduces friction for a moving device or apparatus.
Any of several courses of study to which students are assigned according to ability, achievement, or needs: academic, vocational, and general tracks.
a. A distinct path, as along a length of film or magnetic tape, on which sound, images, or other information is recorded.
b. A distinct selection from a sound recording, such as a phonograph record or compact disk, usually containing an individual work or part of a larger work: the title track of an album.
c. One of the separate sound recordings that are combined so as to be heard simultaneously, as in stereophonic sound reproduction: mixed the vocal track and instrumental track.
Computer Science One of the concentric magnetic rings that form the separate data storage areas on a floppy disk or a hard disk.
tracks Slang Needle marks on the skin from multiple intravenous injections, considered an indication of habitual drug use.

verb tracked, track·ing, tracks

verb, transitive

To follow the tracks of; trail: tracking game through the forest.
To move over or along; traverse.
To carry on the shoes and deposit: tracked mud on the rug.
To observe or monitor the course of (aircraft, for example), as by radar.
To observe the progress of; follow: tracking the company's performance daily.
To equip with a track.
To assign (a student) to a curricular track.

verb, intransitive

To move along a track.
To follow a course; travel.
To keep a constant distance apart. Used of a pair of wheels.
To be in alignment.
a. To follow the undulations in the groove of a phonograph record. Used of a needle.
b. To move across magnetic heads. Used of magnetic tape.

Phrasal Verb: track down To pursue until found or captured: “When, like a running grave, time tracks you down” (Dylan Thomas).

Related Forms:

trackˈa·ble adjective

trackˈer noun

Learn more about track

» track synonyms

» TRACK abbreviations & acronyms

» track computer definition

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