\ ˈtrak
\
1
: a footprint whether recent or fossil
the huge track of a dinosaur
2a
: detectable evidence (such as the wake of a ship, a line of footprints, or a wheel rut) that something has passed
b
: a path made by or as if by repeated footfalls : trail
c
: a course laid out especially for racing
d
: the parallel rails of a railroad
e(1)
: material recorded especially on or as if on a track
instrumental tracks a bonus commentary track on a DVD
(2)
: one of a series of parallel or concentric paths along which material (such as music or information) is recorded (as on a phonograph record or magnetic tape)
(3)
: a group of grooves on a phonograph record containing recorded sound
f
: a usually metal way (such as a groove) serving as a guide (as for a movable lighting fixture)
3a
: a sequence of events : a train of ideas : succession
b
: an awareness of a fact, progression, or condition
keep track of the costs lose track of the time
4
: track-and-field sports
especially
: those performed on a running track
5a
: the course along which something moves or progresses
b
: a way of life, conduct, or action
c
: one of several curricula of study to which students are assigned according to their needs or levels of ability
d
: the projection on the earth's surface of the path along which something (such as a missile or an airplane) has flown
6a
: the width of a wheeled vehicle from wheel to wheel and usually from the outside of the rims
b
: the tread of an automobile tire
c
: either of two endless belts on which a tracklaying vehicle travels
in one's tracks
: where one stands or is at the moment : on the spot
was stopped in his tracks
on track
: achieving or doing what is necessary or expected
tracked;
tracking;
tracks
transitive verb
b
: to search for by following evidence until found
track down the source
2a
: to follow by vestiges : trace
b
: to observe or plot the moving path of (something, such as a spacecraft or missile) often instrumentally
3a
: to carry (mud or other material) on the feet and deposit
tracking mud into the kitchen
b
: to make tracks upon
4
: to keep track of (something, such as a trend) : follow
5
: to travel over : traverse
track a desert
intransitive verb
1
: travel
a comet tracking eastward
2a
of a pair of wheels
(1)
: to maintain a constant distance apart on the straightaway
(2)
: to fit a track or rails
b
of a rear wheel of a vehicle
: to follow accurately the corresponding fore wheel on a straightaway
c
of a phonograph needle
: to follow the groove undulations of a recording
3
: to leave tracks (as on a floor)
