track

noun tracks

1. A mark left by something that has passed along. Follow the track of the ship.

   Similar: trace, trail, wake

2. A mark or impression left by the foot, either of man or animal. The fox tracks were still visible in the snow.

   Similar: footprint, impression

3. The entire lower surface of the foot; said of birds, etc.
4. A road or other similar beaten path. Follow the track for a hundred metres.

   Similar: path, road, way

5. Physical course; way. Astronomers predicted the track of the comet.

   Similar: course, path, trajectory, way

6. A path or course laid out for a race, for exercise, etc. The athletes ran round the track.

   Similar: course, racetrack

7. The direction and progress of someone or something; path. You cannot simply “get” your child back on track; you and others can only help your child with that task.
8. The way or rails along which a train moves. They briefly closed the railway to remove debris found on the track.

   Similar: rails, railway, train tracks, tracks

9. A tract or area, such as of land.

   Similar: area, parcel, region, tract

10. slang The street, as a prostitute's place of work. A real pimp is a gentleman, but these are pimps in gorilla suits. They hang around pimps, they have hoes on the track working for them, they may even look like pimps, but they are straight simps.
11. Awareness of something, especially when arising from close monitoring. You will need to keep track of meetings with your lawyer and court deadlines.
12. The distance between two opposite wheels on a same axletree.

    Similar: track width

13. abbreviation, ellipsis Ellipsis of caterpillar track
14. The pitch.

    Similar: ground, pitch

15. Sound stored on a record.

    Similar: recording

16. The physical track on a record.

    Similar: groove

17. A song or other relatively short piece of music, on a record, separated from others by a short silence. My favourite track on the album is "Sunshine".
18. A circular (never-ending) data storage unit on a side of magnetic or optical disk, divided into sectors.
19. uncountable The racing events of track and field; track and field in general. I'm going to try out for track next week.

    Similar: athletics, track and field

20. A themed set of talks within a conference. This year's third annual Women's Institute will include two tracks—on health and organizational issues—because of the overwhelming response and demand for more workshops last year.
21. abbreviation, clipping, colloquial Clipping of trackshoe
22. Philippines A specialization in senior high school. Some tracks consist of strands.

verb tracks · tracking · tracked

1. transitive To observe the (measured) state of a person or object over time. We will track the raven population over the next six months.
2. transitive To monitor the movement of a person or object. Agent Miles has been tracking the terrorist since Madrid.

   Similar: follow

3. transitive To match the movement or change of a person or object. My height tracks my father's at my age, so I might end up as tall as him.
4. intransitive, transitive, of a camera To travel so that a moving object remains in shot. The camera tracked the ball even as the field of play moved back and forth, keeping the action in shot the entire time.
5. intransitive, of a storm To move. The hurricane tracked further west than expected.
6. transitive To traverse; to move across. I've swept o'er the mountain, the forest and fell, / I've played on the rock where the wild chamois dwell; / I have tracked the desert so dreary and rude, / Through the pathless depths of its solitude; […]
7. transitive To tow.
8. intransitive To exhibit good cognitive function. Is the patient tracking? Does he know where he is?
9. transitive To follow the tracks of. My uncle spent all day tracking the deer, whose hoofprints were clear in the mud.
10. transitive To discover the location of a person or object by following traces. I tracked Joe to his friend's bedroom, where he had spent the night.

    Similar: find, locate, trace, track down

11. transitive To make tracks on or to leave in the form of tracks. In winter, my cat tracks mud all over the house.
12. intransitive, transitive To create a musical recording (a track). Lil Kyle is gonna track with that DJ next week.
13. intransitive, transitive To create music using tracker software. At the time, tracking chiptunes (i.e. using trackers) was the fundamental method of chipmusic-making.
14. colloquial, intransitive To make sense; to be consistent with known information Vitron isn't hiding anything. The oil is there, the books are open, everything tracks.

    Similar: check out, figure, make sense

15. To separate into educational tracks, each of which teaches to a different level of ability. Most working class kids are purposely "tracked" through schools, kept uninformed about scholarships and remedial education/vocation programs and shepherded into dead-end jobs.

Similar: monitor