1a rough path or road, typically one beaten by use rather than constructed:follow the track to the farm
2a prepared course or circuit for athletes, horses, motor vehicles, bicycles, or dogs to race on:a Formula One Grand Prix track
[mass noun] the sport of running on a track:the four running disciplines of track, road, country, and fell
3 (usually tracks) a mark or line of marks left by a person, animal, or vehicle in passing:he followed the tracks made by the cars in the snow
the course or route followed by someone or something (used especially in talking about their pursuit by others):I didn’t want them on my track
a course of action or line of thought:in terms of social arrangements, you are not too far off the track
4a continuous line of rails on a railway:commuters had to leave trains to walk along the tracks [mass noun]:130 kilometres of track
a metal or plastic strip or rail along which a curtain or spotlight may be moved.
Sailing a strip on the mast, boom, or floor of a yacht along which a slide attached to a sail can be moved, used to adjust the position of the sail.
5a recording of one song or piece of music:the CD contains early Elvis Presley tracks
[originally denoting a groove on a gramophone record]
a lengthwise strip of magnetic tape containing one sequence of signals.
the soundtrack of a film or video.
6a continuous articulated metal band around the wheels of a heavy vehicle such as a tank, intended to facilitate movement over rough or soft ground.
Electronics a continuous line of copper or other conductive material on a printed circuit board, used to connect parts of a circuit:extremely thin tracks are not able to withstand much heat when soldering
7the transverse distance between a vehicle’s wheels:the undercarriage was fully retractable inwards into the wing, with a 90 inch track
1follow the trail or movements of (someone or something), typically in order to find them or note their course:secondary radars that track the aircraft in flighthe tracked Anna to her room
note the progress or course of:City have been tracking the striker since the summer
[no object, with adverbial of direction] follow a particular course:the storm was tracking across the ground at 30 mph
(of a stylus) follow (a groove in a record):the pickup’s stylus must faithfully track undulations [no object]:the DT1 tracks exceptionally well
[no object, with adverbial of direction] (of a film or television camera) move in relation to the subject being filmed:the camera eventually tracked away
[with reference to early filming when a camera was mobile by means of a track]
2 [no object] (of wheels) run so that the back ones are exactly in the track of the front ones.
3 [no object] Electronics (of a tunable circuit or component) vary in frequency in the same way as another circuit or component, so that the frequency difference between them remains constant.
in one's tracks
informal where one or something is at that moment; suddenly:Turner immediately stopped dead in his tracks
keep (or lose) track of
keep (or fail to keep) fully aware of or informed about:she had lost all track of time and had fallen asleep
make tracks (for)
informal leave (for a place):I suppose I ought to be making trackswe made tracks for home
