track
Other forms: tracks; tracking; tracked
If you document your study time and record all your exam scores, then you track your progress in school. In this case the verb track shows that you're following the path of something. The noun track can refer to a path of a more literal kind.
The noun track can describe a variety of paths, such as the rails that trains chug along, a course that racehorses run, or the big oval course in an ice rink. If you're competing in a five-lap race and you have the fastest speed after the first four laps, you're on track to win the race. In this case the term "on track" is describing a figurative path, one that indicates you're in a good position to achieve what you want.
Definitions of track
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a line or route along which something travels or moves“the track of an animal”
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types:
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collision course
a course of a moving object that will lead to a collision if it continues unchanged
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inside track
the inner side of a curved racecourse
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round
the course along which communications spread
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steps
the course along which a person has walked or is walking in
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belt, swath
a path or strip (as cut by one course of mowing)
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trail
a track or mark left by something that has passed
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slot
the trail of an animal (especially a deer)
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spoor
the trail left by a person or an animal; what the hunter follows in pursuing game
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type of:
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line
a spatial location defined by a real or imaginary unidimensional extent
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any road or path affording passage especially a rough one
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synonyms:
cart track, cartroad
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examples:
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Chisholm Trail
a former cattle trail from San Antonio in Texas to Abilene in Kansas; not used after the 1880s
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Iditarod Trail
a trail that extends 1,100 miles from Anchorage over the Alaska Range to Nome
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Santa Fe Trail
a trail that extends from Missouri to New Mexico; an important route for settlers moving west in the 19th century
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portage
overland track between navigable waterways
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trail
a path or track roughly blazed through wild or hilly country
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cattle trail
a trail over which cattle were driven to market
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deer trail
a trail worn by the passage of deer
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horse-trail
a trail for horses
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Indian trail
a trail through the wilderness worn by Amerindians
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mountain trail
a trail through mountainous country
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ski run, ski trail
trail or slope prepared for skiing
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Chisholm Trail
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a course over which races are run
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synonyms:
racecourse, racetrack, raceway
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examples:
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Belmont Park
a racetrack for thoroughbred racing in Elmont on Long Island; site of the Belmont Stakes
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Churchill Downs
a racetrack for thoroughbred racing in Louisville; site of the Kentucky Derby
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Pimlico
a racetrack for thoroughbred racing; site of the Preakness
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cinder track
a racetrack paved with fine cinders
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dirt track
a racetrack that is not paved
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circuit, racing circuit
a racetrack for automobile races
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speedway
a racetrack for racing automobiles or motorcycles
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velodrome
a banked oval track for bicycle or motorcycle racing
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type of:
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course
facility consisting of a circumscribed area of land or water laid out for a sport
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Belmont Park
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a pair of parallel rails providing a runway for wheels
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railroad, railroad track, railway
a line of track providing a runway for wheels
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streetcar track, tramline, tramway
the track on which trams or streetcars run
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broad gauge
a railroad track (or its width) broader than the standard 56.5 inches
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gantlet
the convergence of two parallel railroad tracks in a narrow place; the inner rails cross and run parallel and then diverge so a train remains on its own tracks at all times
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narrow gauge
a railroad track (or its width) narrower than the standard 56.5 inches
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railroad siding, sidetrack, siding, turnout
a short stretch of railroad track used to store rolling stock or enable trains on the same line to pass
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standard gauge
railroad track having the standard width of 56.5 inches
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switch
railroad track having two movable rails and necessary connections; used to turn a train from one track to another or to store rolling stock
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a bar or pair of parallel bars of rolled steel making the railway along which railroad cars or other vehicles can roll
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types:
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third rail
a rail through which electric current is supplied to an electric locomotive
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type of:
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bar
a rigid piece of metal or wood; usually used as a fastening or obstruction or weapon
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third rail
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an endless metal belt on which tracked vehicles move over the ground
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synonyms:
caterpillar track, caterpillar tread
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types:
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half track
a track that goes around only rear wheels
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type of:
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belt
endless loop of flexible material between two rotating shafts or pulleys
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half track
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(computer science) one of the circular magnetic paths on a magnetic disk that serve as a guide for writing and reading data
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synonyms:
data track
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a groove on a phonograph recording
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travel across or pass over
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synonyms:
cover, cross, cut across, cut through, get across, get over, pass over, traverse
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types:
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tramp
cross on foot
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stride
cover or traverse by taking long steps
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walk
traverse or cover by walking
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crisscross
cross in a pattern, often random
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ford
cross a river where it's shallow
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bridge
cross over on a bridge
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jaywalk
cross the road at a red light
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drive, take
proceed along in a vehicle
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course
move swiftly through or over
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hop
traverse as if by a short airplane trip
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type of:
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go across, go through, pass
go across or through
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carry on the feet and deposit
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make tracks upon
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a distinct selection of music from a recording or a compact disc“the title track of the album”
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synonyms:
cut
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type of:
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excerpt, excerption, extract, selection
a passage selected from a larger work
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excerpt, excerption, extract, selection
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the act of participating in an athletic competition involving running on a track
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synonyms:
running
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type of:
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track and field
participating in athletic sports performed on a running track or on the field associated with it
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track and field
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go after with the intent to catch
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synonyms:
chase, chase after, dog, give chase, go after, tag, tail, trail
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observe or plot the moving path of something“track a missile”
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type of:
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observe
watch attentively
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observe
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evidence pointing to a possible solution
Pronunciation
US
/træk/
UK
/træk/
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DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘track'.
Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors.
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