track (tr?k)n.1. 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.2. A path along which something moves; a course: following the track of an airplane on radar.3. 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.4. A succession of ideas; a train of thought.5. Awareness of something occurring or passing: keeping track of the score; lost all track of time.6. Sports a. A course laid out for running or racing.b. Athletic competition on such a course; track events.c. Track and field.7. A rail or set of parallel rails upon which railroad cars or other vehicles run.8. 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.9. Either of the continuous metal belts with which vehicles such as bulldozers and tanks move over the ground.10. A metal groove or ridge that holds, guides, and reduces friction for a moving device or apparatus.11. Any of several courses of study to which students are assigned according to ability, achievement, or needs: academic, vocational, and general tracks.12. 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 an audio or video recording, usually containing an individual work or part of a larger work: the title track of an album.c. One of two or more separate recordings that are combined so as to be replayed simultaneously, as in stereophonic sound reproduction: mixed the vocal track and instrumental track.13. Computers a. One of the concentric magnetic rings that form the separate data storage areas on a floppy disk or a hard disk.b. A set of digital data encoded consecutively on an optical disc.14. tracks Slang Needle marks on the skin from multiple intravenous injections, considered an indication of habitual drug use.v. tracked, track·ing, tracks v.tr.1. To follow the tracks of; trail: tracking game through the forest.2. a. To leave marks made of (dirt or mud, for example) on a surface: The dog tracked mud on the rug.b. To leave marks on (a floor, for example) when moving or traversing: You’re tracking up my nice clean floor!3. a. To observe or monitor the course of (an aircraft, for example), as by radar.b. To observe the progress of; follow: tracking the company’s performance daily.c. To determine or discover the location or origin of: tracked the money to an offshore account.4. To equip with a track.5. To assign (a student) to a curricular track.v.intr.1. To follow a course; travel: The storm is tracking up the coast.2. a. To keep a constant distance apart. Used of a pair of wheels.b. To be in alignment: The gears are not tracking properly.3. 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.4. To move in relation to a subject being filmed. Used of a camera or camera crew.Phrasal Verb: track down To pursue until found or captured: tracked him down at the pub.Idiom: in (one’s) tracks Exactly where one is standing: stopped him right in his tracks.[Middle English trak, from Old French trac, perhaps of Germanic origin.]track?a·ble adj.track?er n.American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.track (træk) n1. 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 one3. (Railways) 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 railway4. a course of action, thought, etc: don’t start on that track again!. 5. a line of motion or travel, such as flight6. (Automotive Engineering) 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 ground7. (General Physics) physics the path of a particle of ionizing radiation as observed in a cloud chamber, bubble chamber, or photographic emulsion8. (Athletics (Track & Field)) a. a course for running or racingb. (as modifier): track events. 9. (Athletics (Track & Field)) a. sports performed on a trackb. track and field events as a whole10. (Electronics) a path on a magnetic recording medium, esp magnetic tape, on which information, such as music or speech, from a single input channel is recorded11. (Electronics) any of a number of separate sections in the recording on a record, CD, or cassette12. (Electronics) a metal path that makes the interconnections on an integrated circuit13. (Automotive Engineering) 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 undercarriage14. (Aeronautics) a hypothetical trace made on the surface of the earth by a point directly below an aircraft in flight15. keep track of to follow the passage, course, or progress of16. lose track of to fail to follow the passage, course, or progress of17. off the beaten track See beaten418. off the track away from what is correct or true19. on the track of on the scent or trail of; pursuing20. the right track the correct line of investigation, inquiry, etc21. the wrong track the incorrect line of investigation, inquiry, etcvb22. to follow the trail of (a person, animal, etc)23. (Astronautics) to follow the flight path of (a satellite, spacecraft, etc) by picking up radio or radar signals transmitted or reflected by it24. (Railways) railways a. to provide with a trackb. to run on a track of (a certain width)25. (Film) (of a camera or camera operator) to follow (a moving object) in any direction while operating26. (Film) to move (a camera) towards the scene (track in) or away from the scene (track out)27. to follow a track through (a place): to track the jungles. 28. (Electronics) (intr) (of the pick-up, stylus, etc, of a record player) to follow the groove of a record: the pick-up tracks badly. [C15: from Old French trac, probably of Germanic origin; related to Middle Dutch tracken to pull, Middle Low German trecken; compare Norwegian trakke to trample] ?trackable adj ?tracker nCollins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014track (træk) n. 1. 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. 4. Usu., tracks. footprints or other marks left by an animal, person, or vehicle. 5. a path made or beaten by or as if by the feet of people or animals; trail. 6. a course or route followed; line of travel. 7. a course of action, conduct, or procedure. 8. a series or sequence of events or ideas. 9. a caterpillar tread. 10. a. a course laid out for running or racing. b. the group of sports performed on such a course, as running or hurdling, as distinguished from field events. c. both track and field events as a whole. 11. a. a band of recorded sound laid along the length of a magnetic tape. b. band 2 (def. 5). c. a discrete, separate recording that is combined with other parts of a musical recording to produce the final aural version. 12. the distance between the centers of the treads of either the front or rear wheels of a motor vehicle. 13. one of a number of concentric rings on the surface of a floppy disk, or other computer storage medium, along which data are recorded. 14. tracks, Slang. needle marks on the skin of a drug user caused by habitual injections. 15. a metal strip or rail along which something, as lighting or a curtain, can be mounted or moved. 16. a study program or level of curriculum to which a student is assigned on the basis of aptitude or need; academic course or path. v.t. 17. to follow or pursue the track, traces, or footprints of. 18. to follow (a track, course, etc.). 19. to leave footprints on (often fol. by up): to track the floor with muddy shoes. 20. to make a trail of footprints with (dirt, snow, or the like). 21. to monitor the course or path of (an aircraft, satellite, star, etc.), as by radar or radio signals. 22. to follow the course of progress of; keep track of. v.i. 23. to follow or pursue a track or trail. 24. to run in the same track, as the wheels of a vehicle. 25. to be in alignment, as one gearwheel with another. 26. to have a specified span between wheels or runners. 27. to follow the undulations in the grooves of a phonograph record. 28. track down, to pursue until caught or captured; follow. Idioms: 1. keep track, to remain aware; keep informed. 2. lose track, to fail to keep informed; neglect to keep a record. 3. make tracks, Informal. to hurry. 4. off the track, departing from the objective or the subject at hand; astray. 5. on the track of, in search or pursuit of; close upon. 6. the wrong (or right) side of the tracks, the unfashionable, unacceptable (or fashionable, acceptable) part of a city or other community. [1425?75; late Middle English trak (n.)