track

English Online Dictionary. What means track‎? What does track mean?

English

Etymology

From Middle English trak, tracke, from Old French trac (“track of horses, trail, trace”), of uncertain origin. Likely from a Germanic source, either Old Norse traðk ("a track; path; trodden spot"; > Icelandic traðk (“a track; path; tread”), Faroese traðk (“track; tracks”), Norwegian tråkke (“to trample”)) or from Middle Dutch trec, *trac, treck ("line, row, series"; > Dutch trek (“a draft; feature; trait; groove; expedition”)), German Low German Treck (“a draught; movement; passage; flow”). See tread, trek.

Pronunciation

• enPR: trăk, IPA^(key): /tɹæk/
• Rhymes: -æk

Noun

track (plural tracks)

1. A mark left by something that has passed along.

   Synonyms: trace, trail, wake

2. A mark or impression left by the foot, either of man or animal.

   Synonyms: footprint, impression

3. The entire lower surface of the foot; said of birds, etc.
4. A road or other similar beaten path.

   Synonyms: path, road, way

5. Physical course; way.

   Synonyms: course, path, trajectory, way

6. A path or course laid out for a race, for exercise, etc.

   Synonyms: course, racetrack
7. The direction and progress of someone or something; path.
8. (railways) The way or rails along which a train moves.

   Synonyms: rails, railway, train tracks, tracks

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

   Synonyms: area, parcel, region, tract

10. (slang) The street, as a prostitute's place of work.
11. Awareness of something, especially when arising from close monitoring.
12. (automotive) The distance between two opposite wheels on a same axletree.

    Synonym: track width

13. (automotive) Short for caterpillar track.
14. (cricket) The pitch.

    Synonyms: ground, pitch

15. Sound stored on a record.

    Synonym: recording

16. The physical track on a record.

    Synonym: groove

17. (music) A song or other relatively short piece of music, on a record, separated from others by a short silence.

18. (computing) A circular (never-ending) data storage unit on a side of magnetic or optical disk, divided into sectors.
19. (uncountable, sports) The racing events of track and field; track and field in general.

    Synonyms: athletics, track and field
20. A themed set of talks within a conference.
21. (fashion, colloquial) Clipping of trackshoe.
23. (Philippines, education) A specialization in senior high school. Some tracks consist of strands.

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Descendants

• → Kashubian: trak (Canada)

Translations

See also

• path
• trail

Verb

track (third-person singular simple present tracks, present participle tracking, simple past and past participle tracked)

1. To continue over time.
   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.
   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. (transitive or intransitive, 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, chiefly of a storm) To move.

      The hurricane tracked further west than expected.

   6. (transitive) To traverse; to move across.
   7. (transitive) To tow.
   8. (intransitive) To exhibit good cognitive function.

      Is the patient tracking? Does he know where he is?

      • 2010 October 1, "karimitch" (username), "Memory Loss - Pancreatic Cancer Forums", in cancerforums.net, Cancer Forums:

        My mother in the past couple of days has started to really get confused and lose her train of thought easily.... She isn't tracking very well.

2. (transitive) To follow the tracks of.

3. (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.

   • 2017 August 25, Aukkarapon Niyomyat & Panarat Thepgumpanat, "Thai junta seeks Yingluck's arrest as former PM skips court verdict", in reuters.com, Reuters:

     "She could be at any hospital...she could be ill. It's not clear whether she has fled," he told reporters. "Yingluck has many homes and many cars. It is difficult to track her."

4. (transitive) To make tracks on or to leave in the form of tracks.

5. (transitive or intransitive) To create a musical recording (a track).

   Lil Kyle is gonna track with that DJ next week.

   1. (computing, transitive or intransitive) To create music using tracker software.
6. (intransitive, colloquial) To make sense; to be consistent with known information
7. To separate into educational tracks, each of which teaches to a different level of ability.

Synonyms

• (observe the state of an object over time): monitor
• (monitor the movement of a person or object): follow
• (discover the location of a person or object): find, locate, trace, track down
• (be consistent with known information): make sense, check out

Derived terms

Related terms

• tracker

Translations

French

Pronunciation

Noun

track m (plural tracks)

1. (Quebec) track (path)
2. (Quebec) track (railway)

Noun

track f (plural tracks)

1. track (of music)

Spanish

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English track.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɾak/ [ˈt̪ɾak]
• Rhymes: -ak
• Syllabification: track

Noun

track m (plural tracks)

1. (sports) track

Usage notes

According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed.