Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A mark or succession of marks left by something that has passed.
  • noun A path, route, or course indicated by such marks.
  • noun A path along which something moves; a course.
  • noun A course of action; a method of proceeding.
  • noun An intended or proper course.
  • noun A succession of ideas; a train of thought.
  • noun Awareness of something occurring or passing.
  • noun A course laid out for running or racing.
  • noun Athletic competition on such a course; track events.
  • noun Track and field.
  • noun A rail or set of parallel rails upon which railroad cars or other vehicles run.
  • noun The boundary, formerly often delineated by train tracks, that separates two neighborhoods of different social class.
  • noun Either of the continuous metal belts with which vehicles such as bulldozers and tanks move over the ground.
  • noun A metal groove or ridge that holds, guides, and reduces friction for a moving device or apparatus.
  • noun Any of several courses of study to which students are assigned according to ability, achievement, or needs.
  • noun A distinct path, as along a length of film or magnetic tape, on which sound, images, or other information is recorded.
  • noun A distinct selection from an audio or video recording, usually containing an individual work or part of a larger work.
  • noun One of two or more separate recordings that are combined so as to be replayed simultaneously, as in stereophonic sound reproduction.
  • noun One of the concentric magnetic rings that form the separate data storage areas on a floppy disk or a hard disk.
  • noun A set of digital data encoded consecutively on an optical disc.
  • noun Slang Needle marks on the skin from multiple intravenous injections, considered an indication of habitual drug use.
  • intransitive verb To follow the tracks of; trail.
  • intransitive verb To leave marks made of (dirt or mud, for example) on a surface.
  • intransitive verb To leave marks on (a floor, for example) when moving or traversing.
  • intransitive verb To observe or monitor the course of (an aircraft, for example), as by radar.
  • intransitive verb To observe the progress of; follow.
  • intransitive verb To determine or discover the location or origin of.
  • intransitive verb To equip with a track.
  • intransitive verb To assign (a student) to a curricular track.
  • intransitive verb To follow a course; travel.
  • intransitive verb To keep a constant distance apart. Used of a pair of wheels.
  • intransitive verb To be in alignment.
  • intransitive verb To follow the undulations in the groove of a phonograph record. Used of a needle.
  • intransitive verb To move across magnetic heads. Used of magnetic tape.
  • intransitive verb To move in relation to a subject being filmed. Used of a camera or camera crew.
  • idiom (in (one's) tracks) Exactly where one is standing.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A tract of land.
  • To draw; specifically, to draw or tow (a boat) by a line reaching from the vessel to the bank or shore.
  • To draw out; protract; delay.
  • noun A feature; lineament.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English trak, from Old French trac, perhaps of Germanic origin.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

(noun) From Old French trac (French: traque), from a Germanic source akin to Old Norse traðk "trodden place, track" (norw. trakke "to trample"), Dutch: trek, Middle Low German: treck.

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Examples

  • If I was keeping track of the 50 Book Challenge thing and I'm well past 100, or 200 if you count YA and graphic novels, which is why I'm not really keeping track*, Grafton alone would have accounted for getting me nineteen books along that path this year.

    Back in town/Tuesday notes yendi 2005

  • * @param string $name Name of the cookie, will be automatically prefixed with the phpBB cookie name. track becomes [cookie_name] _track then.

    phpBB.com ibelphegor 2010

  • * @param string $name Name of the cookie, will be automatically prefixed with the phpBB cookie name. track becomes [cookie_name] _track then.

    phpBB.com 2009

  • The name of the title track translates as "The Red of Lips."

    English-writing Israeli-bloggers 2009

  • The new songs, though, forfeit the elegance of her classic material in favor of sheen and rougher texture, as with the title track, which is more beat-driven than anything she's ever done.

    Diamond Lite 2010

  • LOWDOWN: Country outlaw Jamey Johnson will release two albums in 2010: A “white album,” due first, will focus on upbeat material, including the hard-rocking singalong “California Riots” and the title track, which is sung from the perspective of old guitars hanging on a wall.

    RollingStone Spring Music Preview Pt4 | CurveHouse.com 2010

  • The original also featured a "Slow Version" of the title track, which is heard in its entirety for the first time on this double-disc set.

    Mike Ragogna: Fan-Funding With Jonah Smith, Plus Chris Bell, Stephen Stills, and Manassas Updates 2009

  • Only two songs on this departure album bare any pop sounds at all; the bouncy 'All This Time', wisely chosen as the first single, and the title track, which is led by the big drum sound of Manu Katche and the light guitar riffs of Dominic Miller.

    The Soul Cages 1991

  • The same voice also sings the title track, which is beautiful in its simplicity as the piano and guitar meld together striking poignant chords.

    Brainwashed 2010

  • Spin, the tracks were mostly inspired by surfing, except for the instrumental "Lady Dada's Nightmare", which is an homage to Lady Gaga, and the title track, which is about "the world economic crisis."

    Pitchfork: Latest News 2010

  • There’s also what you might call a “craft-beer track,” consistenting of candidates who are from the middle of the country but whose appeal might be stronger among college-educated voters, such as O’Rourke and (craft brewery founder!) John Hickenlooper, a former governor of Colorado.

    How Amy Klobuchar Could Win The 2020 Democratic Nomination Nate Silver 2019

Comments

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  • The tracks that the dolly rolls along.

    July 31, 2008

  • In addition, track signifies to tow (a vessel), particularly from a bank (OED).

    September 12, 2015