tract

/trækt/

Other forms: tracts

A tract is a large, open piece of land — like that tract of farmland you bought when you decided your dream in life was to raise llamas. Tract is also a word for a short pamphlet or booklet, like that tract you recently read entitled "The Care and Feeding of Llamas."

In addition to referring to areas of land and small booklets, the word tract can describe complicated systems or structures in the body. If you were to unwind your intestine, an important part of your digestive tract, it would not stretch across a large tract of land, but only 25-28 feet — but that's still pretty long! (You probably don't need to read a tract on human anatomy to realize this would be an unhealthy experiment.)

Definitions of tract

noun
an extended area of land

synonyms: parcel, parcel of land, piece of ground, piece of land

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Hanging Gardens of Babylon
a terraced garden at Babylon watered by pumps from the Euphrates; construction attributed to Nebuchadnezzar around 600 BC

Tuileries Gardens
formal gardens next to the Louvre in Paris

Armageddon
(New Testament) the scene of the final battle between the kings of the Earth at the end of the world

Camlan
(Arthurian legend) the battlefield where King Arthur was mortally wounded

ground zero
the site of the World Trade Center before it was destroyed

Trafalgar Square
a square in central London where there is a memorial to Admiral Nelson

Acadia National Park
a national park in Maine showing marine erosion and glaciation; includes seashore and also the highest point on the Atlantic coast

Arches National Park
a national park in Utah including mountains and the Colorado River gorge and huge rock formations caused by erosion

Badlands National Park
a national park in South Dakota having multicolored peaks and spires resulting from erosion; fossil sites

Big Bend National Park
a large national park in Texas featuring mountains and desert and canyons and wildlife

Biscayne National Park
a national park in Florida having underwater coral reefs and marine life

Bryce Canyon National Park
a national park in Utah having multicolored rock erosions

Canyonlands National Park
a national park in Utah having rock formations and ancient cliff dwellings; canyons of the Green River and the Colorado River

Capitol Reef National Park
a national park in Utah having colorful rock formations and desert plants and wildlife

Carlsbad Caverns National Park
a national park in New Mexico featuring what is probably the world's largest cavern with spectacular underground formations

Channel Islands National Park
a national park in California featuring sea birds and marine life

Crater Lake National Park
a national park in Oregon having the deepest lake in the United States in the crater of an extinct volcano

Denali National Park
a large national park in Alaska having peaks of the Alaska Range (including Mount McKinley) and the huge Denali fault

Everglades National Park
a national park in Florida containing an immense subtropical wilderness with mangrove swamps and rare birds and wild animals

Gates of the Arctic National Park
a large national park in Alaska featuring the Great Mendenhall Glacier

Grand Canyon National Park
a national park in Arizona including the mile deep canyon of the Colorado River which shows geologic features and fossil plants and animals

Grand Teton National Park
a national park in Wyoming featuring mountains

Great Smoky Mountains National Park
a national park in Tennessee and North Carolina that includes the highest mountain in the eastern United States

Guadalupe Mountains National Park
a national park in Texas that has the highest point in Texas; includes desert wilderness and the ancient Apache hunting grounds

Haleakala National Park
a national park in Hawaii including a dormant volcano

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
a national park in Hawaii featuring active volcanoes

Hot Springs National Park
a national park in Arkansas featuring ancient hot springs; bathing is said to have therapeutic effects

Isle Royal National Park
a national park on an island in Michigan; includes prehistoric iron mines

Katmai National Park
a national park in Alaska featuring mountains

Kenai Fjords National Park
a national park in Alaska having mountains and whale watching and ancient Indian copper mines

Kings Canyon National Park
a national park in California that has giant sequoia trees and alpine lakes and glaciers

Kobuk Valley National Park
a national park in Alaska having mountains and forests and tundra and sand dunes and archeological sites

Lake Clark National Park
a national park in Alaska having Eskimo and Athapaskan archeological sites

Lassen Volcanic National Park
a national park in California having mountains and volcanic lakes and hot springs

Mammoth Cave National Park
a national park in Kentucky having a large cavern and an underground river

Mesa Verde National Park
a national park in Colorado containing prehistoric cliff dwellings; semiarid landscape

Mount Ranier National Park
a national park in Washington having mountain terrain featuring glaciers and alpine lakes and streams and swamps

North Cascades National Park
a national park in Washington that is an alpine wilderness area featuring gold rush and logging campsites

Olympic National Park
a national park in Washington having rain forests of giant evergreens

Petrified Forest National Park
a national park in Arizona having the world's largest collection of petrified coniferous trees

Platt National Park
a national park in Oklahoma having mineral springs

Redwood National Park
a national park in California featuring a redwood forest and Pacific Ocean coastline

Rocky Mountain National Park
a national park in Colorado having mountains and lakes and streams and forests

Sequoia National Park
a national park in California that includes Mount Whitney

Shenandoah National Park
a national park in Virginia for the Blue Ridge Mountains

Theodore Roosevelt Memorial National Park
a national park in North Dakota that includes the site of former President Theodore Roosevelt's ranch

Virgin Islands National Park
a national park in the Virgin Islands having tropical plants and animals; sandy beaches and coral reefs

Voyageurs National Park
a national park in Minnesota having ancient rock outcroppings and evergreen forests

Wind Cave National Park
a national park in South Dakota featuring bison herds and limestone caverns

Wrangell-St. Elias National Park
the largest national park of the United States; located in Alaska

Yellowstone National Park
the first national park in the United States; located in the border area between Wyoming and Montana and Idaho; spectacular wilderness; famous for Old Faithful geyser and for buffalo and bears

Yosemite National Park
a national park in California famous for its waterfalls and rock formations

Zion National Park
a national park in Utah having huge canyons and gorges carved by mountain rivers

Stonehenge
an ancient megalithic monument in southern England; probably used for ritual purposes

Lateran
the site in Rome containing the church of Rome and the Lateran Palace

Byblos
an ancient Mediterranean seaport that was a thriving city state in Phoenicia during the second millennium BC; was the chief port for the export of papyrus; located in Lebanon to the north of Beirut; now partially excavated

Serengeti National Park
a national park in Tanzania created in 1951 to protect the wildlife

Disneyland
an amusement park in Anaheim created in 1955 by Walt Disney

Walt Disney World
a large amusement park established in 1971 to the southwest of Orlando

Central Park
a large park in Manhattan

Great Arabian Desert
a desert on the Arabian Peninsula in southwestern Asia

Arabian Desert
a desert in Egypt between the Nile River and the Red Sea

Atacama Desert
a desert in northern Chile rich in nitrate and copper deposits

Great Australian Desert
general name given to all desert areas in Australia

Black Rock Desert
a desert in northwestern Nevada

Chihuahuan Desert
a desert in western Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and northern Mexico

Colorado Desert
an arid region of southeastern California

Great Salt Desert
a salt desert in north central Iran

Dasht-e-Lut
a desert in eastern Iran

Death Valley
a desert area that is part of the Mojave Desert in eastern California and southwestern Nevada; contains the lowest point in North America

Gibson Desert
a desert area in western Australia

Gila Desert
a desert area in southern Arizona

Gobi Desert
a desert in central China

Great Sandy Desert
a desert region in northwestern Australia to the north of the Gibson Desert

Great Victoria Desert
a desert region in south central Australia to the north of the Nullarbor Plain

Kalahari Desert
a desert in southwestern Africa - largely Botswana

Turkestan Desert
a desert in Turkmenistan to the south of the Aral Sea

Kizil Kum
a desert in Uzbekistan to the southeast of the Aral Sea

Libyan Desert
the northeastern part of the Sahara Desert in Libya and Egypt and Sudan

Mohave Desert
a desert area in southern California and western Arizona

Namib Desert
a desert in Namibia extending along the coast between the high plateau and the Atlantic Ocean

An Nafud
a desert in northern Saudi Arabia that is noted for its red sand and violent winds

Negev Desert
a desert in southern Israel

Nubian Desert
an arid sandstone plateau in northeastern Sudan between the Nile and the Red Sea

Painted Desert
a desert on a high plateau in northeastern Arizona

Patagonian Desert
a semiarid region in southern South America

Great Sandy Desert
a desert in southern Saudi Arabia

Sahara Desert
the world's largest desert (3,500,000 square miles) in northern Africa

Simpson Desert
a desert region of central Australia

Sinai Desert
a desert on the Sinai Peninsula in northeastern Egypt

Sonoran Desert
a desert in southwestern Arizona

Syrian Desert
a desert of northern Arabia occupying western Iraq, southern Syria, eastern Jordan, and northern Saudi Arabia

Taklamakan Desert
a desert in western China

Great Indian Desert
a desert to the east of the Indus River in northwestern India and southeastern Pakistan

Great Plains of North America
a vast prairie region extending from Alberta and Saskatchewan and Manitoba in Canada south through the west central United States into Texas; formerly inhabited by Native Americans

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baseball diamond, diamond, infield
the area of a baseball field that is enclosed by 3 bases and home plate

center, center field, centerfield
the piece of ground in the outfield directly ahead of the catcher

left, left field, leftfield
the piece of ground in the outfield on the catcher's left

outfield
the area of a baseball playing field beyond the lines connecting the bases

right, right field, rightfield
the piece of ground in the outfield on the catcher's right

short
the location on a baseball field where the shortstop is stationed

railway yard, railyard, yard
an area having a network of railway tracks and sidings for storage and maintenance of cars and engines

desert
arid land with little or no vegetation

oasis
a fertile tract in a desert (where the water table approaches the surface)

battlefield, battleground, field, field of battle, field of honor
a region where a battle is being (or has been) fought

minefield
a region in which explosives mines have been placed

breeding ground
a place where animals breed

clearing, glade
a tract of land with few or no trees in the middle of a wooded area

field
a piece of land cleared of trees and usually enclosed

field of fire
the area that a weapon or group of weapons can cover effectively with gun fire from a given position

grounds
a tract of land cleared for some special purposes (recreation or burial etc.)

athletic field, field, playing area, playing field
a piece of land prepared for playing a game

industrial park
a tract of land at a distance from city center that is designed for a cluster of businesses and factories

grassland
land where grass or grasslike vegetation grows and is the dominant form of plant life

mud flat
a tract of low muddy land near an estuary; covered at high tide and exposed at low tide

parade ground
an area for holding parades

fairground
an open area for holding fairs or exhibitions or circuses

midway
the place at a fair or carnival where sideshows and similar amusements are located

fairway
a tract of ground free of obstacles to movement

park, parkland
a large area of land preserved in its natural state as public property

common, commons, green, park
a piece of open land for recreational use in an urban area

picnic area, picnic ground
a tract of land set aside for picnicking

public square, square
an open area at the meeting of two or more streets

toll plaza
an area where tollbooths are located

range
a large tract of grassy open land on which livestock can graze

sector
a portion of a military position

land site, site
the piece of land on which something is located (or is to be located)

subdivision
an area composed of subdivided lots

mine field
a tract of land containing explosive mines

terrain
a piece of ground having specific characteristics or military potential

patch, plot, plot of ground, plot of land
a small area of ground covered by specific vegetation

lot
a parcel of land having fixed boundaries

yard
a tract of land enclosed for particular activities (sometimes paved and usually associated with buildings)

yard
a tract of land where logs are accumulated

arena, scene of action
a playing field where sports events take place

ball field, baseball field, diamond
the baseball playing field

bed
a plot of ground in which plants are growing

camp, summer camp
a site where care and activities are provided for children during the summer months

court
a specially marked horizontal area within which a game is played

football field, gridiron
the playing field on which football is played

garden
a plot of ground where plants are cultivated

marshalling yard
a railway yard in which trains are assembled and goods are loaded

palaestra, palestra
a public place in ancient Greece or Rome devoted to the training of wrestlers and other athletes

curtilage, grounds, yard
the enclosed land around a house or other building

amusement park, funfair, pleasure ground
a commercially operated park with stalls and shows for amusement

apron
(golf) the part of the fairway leading onto the green

bomb site
an area in a town that has been devastated by bombs

bowling green
a field of closely mowed turf for playing bowls

bivouac, campground, camping area, camping ground, camping site, campsite, encampment
a site where people on holiday can pitch a tent

campus
a field on which the buildings of a university are situated

burial ground, burial site, burying ground, cemetery, graveyard, memorial park, necropolis
a tract of land used for burials

archeological site, dig, excavation
the site of an archeological exploration

dump, dumpsite, garbage dump, rubbish dump, trash dump, waste-yard, wasteyard
a piece of land where waste materials are dumped

fairway
the area between the tee and putting green where the grass is cut short

bent
an area of grassland unbounded by fences or hedges

hayfield, meadow
a field where grass or alfalfa are grown to be made into hay

firebreak, fireguard
a narrow field that has been cleared to check the spread of a prairie fire or forest fire

grain field, grainfield
a field where grain is grown

green, putting green, putting surface
an area of closely cropped grass surrounding the hole on a golf course

home range, home territory
the area in which an animal normally ranges

junkyard
a field where junk is collected and stored for resale

launching site
a place for launching pads

lawn
a field of cultivated and mowed grass

monument
an important site that is marked and preserved as public property

national park
a tract of land declared by the national government to be public property

paddy, paddy field, rice paddy
an irrigated or flooded field where rice is grown

car park, park, parking area, parking lot
a lot where cars are parked

grazing land, lea, ley, pasture, pastureland
a field covered with grass or herbage and suitable for grazing by livestock

pesthole
a breeding ground for epidemic disease

prairie
a treeless grassy plain

piazza, place, plaza
a public square with room for pedestrians

premises
land and the buildings on it

rough
the part of a golf course bordering the fairway where the grass is not cut short

rookery
a breeding ground for gregarious birds (such as rooks)

safari park
an area of parkland where wild animals are kept and can be viewed by visitors driving through

savanna, savannah
a flat grassland in tropical or subtropical regions

schoolyard
the yard associated with a school

God's acre, churchyard
the yard associated with a church

tee, teeing ground
the starting place for each hole on a golf course

Superfund site, toxic site, toxic waste area
a site where toxic wastes have been dumped and the Environmental Protection Agency has designated them to be cleaned up

building site, vacant lot
a lot on which there are no permanent buildings

veld, veldt
elevated open grassland in southern Africa

village green
a village park consisting of a plot of grassy land

tiltyard
(formerly) an enclosed field for tilting contests

type of:
geographic area, geographic region, geographical area, geographical region
a demarcated area of the Earth
noun
a system of body parts that together serve some particular purpose

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airway, respiratory tract
the passages through which air enters and leaves the body

urinary tract
the organs and tubes involved in the production and excretion of urine

lower respiratory tract
the bronchi and lungs

upper respiratory tract
the nose and throat and trachea

type of:
system
a group of physiologically or anatomically related organs or parts
noun
a bundle of myelinated nerve fibers following a path through the brain

synonyms: nerve pathway, nerve tract, pathway

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optic radiation, radiatio optica
a nerve pathway from the lateral geniculate body to the visual cortex

commissure
a bundle of nerve fibers passing from one side to the other of the brain or spinal cord

cerebral peduncle, peduncle
a bundle of myelinated neurons joining different parts of the brain

corpus callosum
a broad transverse nerve tract connecting the two cerebral hemispheres

type of:
substantia alba, white matter
whitish nervous tissue of the CNS consisting of neurons and their myelin sheaths
noun
a brief treatise on a subject of interest; published in the form of a booklet

synonyms: pamphlet

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type of:
treatise
a formal exposition

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