tracks definition | Dictionary.com

track

[trak]

–noun

1.	a structure consisting of 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.	Usually, tracks. footprints or other marks left by an animal, person, or vehicle: a lion's tracks; car tracks.

5.	a path made or beaten by or as if by the feet of people or animals; trail: to follow the track of a murderer.

6.	a line of travel or motion: the track of a bird.

7.	a course or route followed.

8.	a course of action, conduct, or procedure: on the right track to solve the problem.

9.	a path or course made or laid out for some particular purpose.

10.	a series or sequence of events or ideas.

11.	something associated with making a track, as the wheel span of a vehicle or the tread of a tire.

12.	a caterpillar tread.

13.

Sports.

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.

14.

Recording.

a.	a band of recorded sound laid along the length of a magnetic tape.

b.	band ² (def. 6).

c.	an individual song or segment of a recording: a title track.

d.	a discrete, separate recording that is combined with other parts of a musical recording to produce the final aural version: a special rhythm track added to the basic track.

15.	Automotive. the distance between the centers of the treads of either the front or rear wheels of a vehicle.

16.	Computers. a data-recording path on a storage medium, as a magnetic disk, tape, or drum, that is accessible to a read-write head in a given position as the medium moves past.

17.	tracks, Slang. needle marks on the arm, leg, or body of a drug user caused by habitual injections.

18.	sound track.

19.	a metal strip or rail along which something, as lighting or a curtain, can be mounted or moved.

20.	Education. a study program or level of curriculum to which a student is assigned on the basis of aptitude or need; academic course or path.

–verb (used with object)

21.	to follow or pursue the track, traces, or footprints of.

22.	to follow (a track, course, etc.).

23.	to make one's way through; traverse.

24.	to leave footprints on (often fol. by up or on): to track the floor with muddy shoes.

25.	to make a trail of footprints with (dirt, snow, or the like): The dog tracked mud all over the living room rug.

26.	to observe or monitor the course or path of (an aircraft, rocket, satellite, star, etc.), as by radar or radio signals.

27.	to observe or follow the course of progress of; keep track of.

28.	to furnish with a track or tracks, as for railroad trains.

29.	Railroads. to have (a certain distance) between wheels, runners, rails, etc.

–verb (used without object)

30.	to follow or pursue a track or trail.

31.	to run in the same track, as the wheels of a vehicle.

32.	to be in alignment, as one gearwheel with another.

33.	to have a specified span between wheels or runners: The car's wheels track about five feet.

34.	Movies, Television. dolly (def. 12).

35.	Recording. to follow the undulations in the grooves of a phonograph record.

—Verb phrase

36.	track down, to pursue until caught or captured; follow: to track down a killer.

—Idioms

37.	in one's tracks, Informal. in the spot in which one is or is standing at the moment: He stopped dead in his tracks, listening for the sound to be repeated.

38.	keep track, to be aware; keep informed: Have you been keeping track of the time?

39.	lose track, to fail to keep informed; neglect to keep a record: He soon lost track of how much money he had spent.

40.	make tracks, Informal. to go or depart in a hurry: to make tracks for the store before closing time.

41.	off the track, departing from the objective or the subject at hand; astray: He can't tell a story without getting off the track.

42.	on the track of, in search or pursuit of; close upon: They are on the track of a solution to the problem.

43.	on the wrong or right side of the tracks, from a poor or wealthy part of a community or of society: born on the wrong side of the tracks.

Origin:
1425–75; late ME trak (n.) < MF trac, perh. < ON trathk trodden spot; cf. Norw trakke to trample; akin to tread

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

track (trāk) Pronunciation Key
n.

1. A mark or succession of marks left by something that has passed.
2. A path, route, or course indicated by such marks: an old wagon track through the mountains.
3. A course of action; a method of proceeding: on the right track for solving the puzzle.
4. An intended or proper course: putting a stalled project back on track.
5. A course laid out for running or racing.
6. Athletic competition on such a course; track events.
7. Track and field.
8. A distinct path, as along a length of film or magnetic tape, on which sound, images, or other information is recorded.
9. 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.
10. 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.
A path along which something moves; a course: following the track of an airplane on radar.
1. A course of action; a method of proceeding: on the right track for solving the puzzle.
2. An intended or proper course: putting a stalled project back on track.
3. A course laid out for running or racing.
4. Athletic competition on such a course; track events.
5. Track and field.
6. A distinct path, as along a length of film or magnetic tape, on which sound, images, or other information is recorded.
7. 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.
8. 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.
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
1. A course laid out for running or racing.
2. Athletic competition on such a course; track events.
3. Track and field.
4. A distinct path, as along a length of film or magnetic tape, on which sound, images, or other information is recorded.
5. 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.
6. 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.
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.
1. A distinct path, as along a length of film or magnetic tape, on which sound, images, or other information is recorded.
2. 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.
3. 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.

v. tracked, track·ing, tracks

v. tr.

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.

v. intr.

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.
1. To follow the undulations in the groove of a phonograph record. Used of a needle.
2. To move across magnetic heads. Used of magnetic tape.

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

Idiom(s):
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.

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