# track

Pronunciation: say "TRAK" /tɹæk/

## Verb

1. To follow and record the movement, progress, or condition of a person or thing over time, typically by watching, taking measurements, or using electronic equipment.
   - Simple: To watch or measure how someone or something moves or changes over time.
   - _Researchers track the patients' cholesterol levels throughout the trial._
   - _The dashboard tracks server temperatures across the data center._
7. To follow the trail, footprints, or other traces left by a person or animal in order to find them.
   - Simple: To follow the marks or signs someone left behind so that you can find them.
   - _Investigators tracked the hacker through a chain of server logs._
   - _She used old letters and census records to track her long-lost cousin to Maine._
12. To move or travel along a course or path, or across an area.
   - Simple: To move or travel along a path or across a place.
   - _The hurricane tracked toward the coast for three days._
   - _Most of these storms track north along the coast before they weaken._
16. To move or change in step with another person or thing, so that its movement or change is matched.
   - Simple: To move or change in the same way as another person or thing.
   - _Gas prices tend to track the price of crude oil, rising and falling along with it._
   - _In the mirror exercise, his hands tracked his partner's every gesture._
17. To create a musical recording; to record a track.
   - Simple: To record a song or part of a song in a studio.
   - _They tracked the drums in a single afternoon session._
   - _The studio lets you track and mix in one place._
18. To be consistent with known information; to make sense. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To make sense and fit with what you already know.
   - _His excuse doesn't really track with what his boss told us._
   - _His explanation tracks with the security footage._
19. To divide students into separate groups, each taught to a different level of ability.
   - Simple: To split students into groups that each learn at a different level.
   - _Some schools track children into separate classes from a young age._
   - _Administrators chose to track incoming freshmen by test scores._
20. To move the camera so that a moving subject stays within the shot.
   - Simple: To move a camera so a moving person or thing stays in the picture.
   - _In the long opening shot, the camera operator has to track the actor through a crowded kitchen._
   - _The camera tracks left to follow the action._
21. To leave marks or deposits, such as mud or footprints, on a surface by walking over it.
   - Simple: To leave dirty marks or footprints on a floor by walking.
   - _Workers tracked grease across the showroom floor._
   - _Try not to track sand into the tent._

## Noun

2. An individual song or other piece of music on a record, CD, or digital release, including the part of a disc on which it is recorded.
   - Simple: One song or piece of music on an album or other recording.
   - _The band released only one track ahead of the full album._
   - _Critics praised the closing tracks for their emotional depth._
3. A path or course laid out for racing, exercise, or similar activity.
   - Simple: A path or loop built for running, racing, or exercise.
   - _The athletes warmed up on the track before the race._
   - _A new rubberized track was installed at the high school._
4. The rails, and the bed beneath them, along which a train moves.
   - Simple: The set of rails that a train runs along.
   - _Crews inspected the track for cracks before the express was allowed through._
   - _Several miles of track were torn up to make way for the new line._
5. The direction in which someone or something is moving, together with the progress made along that path.
   - Simple: The path and direction that someone or something is moving in, and how far it has come.
   - _Despite the early delays, the bridge project is on track to open next spring._
   - _The missile's track curved sharply before impact._
6. Awareness of something, especially as it arises from close monitoring.
   - Simple: A clear sense of where something is or how it is going, from watching it closely.
   - _She kept careful track of every expense during the trip._
   - _He lost all track of the conversation while daydreaming._
8. The running and racing events of athletics, considered together with field events as a single sport.
   - Simple: The sport of running races and field events like jumping and throwing.
   - _Track is one of the most popular sports at the college._
   - _She earned a scholarship in track after a record-breaking season._
9. A beaten path or rough road, usually unpaved and worn by use.
   - Simple: A rough path or dirt road worn down by use.
   - _The old farm track was barely wide enough for the tractor._
   - _They hiked along a stony track winding up the hillside._
10. A physical course or way along which something travels.
   - Simple: The physical course or way along which something moves.
   - _The roller coaster car followed the steep track up the first hill._
   - _The curtain runs along a track fixed to the ceiling._
11. Recorded sound stored on a record or other medium.
   - Simple: Sound that has been recorded and saved, ready to be played back.
   - _The engineer layered a guitar track over the existing rhythm._
   - _Each instrument was captured on a separate track._
13. A mark or line of marks, such as footprints or wheel ruts, left on the ground where a person, animal, or vehicle has passed.
   - Simple: Marks left on the ground by feet, paws, or wheels where someone or something has gone.
   - _The tank cut a deep track through the soft field._
   - _Faint tracks showed where the cart had rolled downhill._
14. Short for caterpillar track: a looped metal or rubber belt that runs around wheels to move tanks and diggers. — Ellipsis of caterpillar track.
   - Simple: Short for caterpillar track. It is the looped belt of metal plates that tanks and diggers roll along on.
   - _The vehicle's left track snapped during the river crossing._
   - _Engineers redesigned the track to grip loose sand better._
15. A themed group of talks or sessions within a larger conference.
   - Simple: A group of talks at a conference that all share one topic.
   - _The morning featured a dedicated track for early-career researchers._
   - _Attendees could switch between tracks depending on their interests._
22. One of the concentric circular paths on a side of a magnetic disk where data is stored, divided into sectors; an optical disc instead has one continuous spiral track.
   - Simple: One of the rings on a computer disk where data is kept. A CD keeps its data along one long spiral.
   - _Each track on the hard disk is divided into numbered sectors._
   - _The read head moves between tracks to find the requested file._
23. In cricket, the pitch: the prepared strip of ground between the wickets.
   - Simple: In cricket, the strip of ground in the middle where the ball is bowled.
   - _The captain studied the track before deciding to bat first._
   - _A dry track favored the spin bowlers in the afternoon._

## Other meanings

- (noun) The distance between the two wheels at opposite ends of one axle.
- (noun) The whole underside of a foot, especially a bird's.
- (noun) The streets where sex workers look for customers, seen as their place of work.
- (noun) Short for track shoe, a light running shoe with spikes.
- (noun) A program of study a senior high school student chooses to focus on, sometimes split into smaller strands.
- (verb) To pull a boat along a canal or river with a rope from the bank.
- (verb) To show clear thinking and follow what is happening, often said of a patient.
- (verb) To compose music with tracker software, which lays out notes and effects in rows within patterns.

## Origin

From Middle English 'trak' or 'tracke', taken from Old French 'trac' meaning a track, trail, or trace. Its ultimate origin is uncertain, but it likely came from a Germanic source, either Old Norse 'traðk' (a track or trodden path) or Middle Dutch 'trec' (a line, row, or series).

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/track (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).