(~s, ~ing, ~ed)
Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English.
1.
A ~ is a narrow road or path.
We set off once more, over a rough mountain ~.
= path
N-COUNT
2.
A ~ is a piece of ground, often oval-shaped, that is used for races involving athletes, cars, bicycles, horses, or dogs called greyhounds.
The two men turned to watch the horses going round the ~.
...the athletics ~.
N-COUNT
3.
Railway ~s are the rails that a train travels along.
A woman fell on to the ~s.
N-COUNT: usu pl
4.
A ~ is one of the songs or pieces of music on a CD, record, or tape.
N-COUNT
5.
Tracks are marks left in the ground by the feet of animals or people.
The only evidence of pandas was their ~s in the snow...
N-PLURAL: oft supp N
6.
If you ~ animals or people, you try to follow them by looking for the signs that they have left behind, for example the marks left by their feet.
He thought he had better ~ this wolf and kill it...
VERB: V n
7.
To ~ someone or something means to follow their movements by means of a special device, such as a satellite or radar.
Our radar began ~ing the jets...
VERB: V n
8.
If you ~ someone or something, you investigate them, because you are interested in finding out more about them.
If it’s possible, ~ the rumour back to its origin...
VERB: V n
9.
In a school, a ~ is a group of children of the same age and ability who are taught together. (AM; in BRIT, use stream )
N-COUNT
10.
To ~ students means to divide them into groups according to their ability. (AM; in BRIT, use stream )
Students are already being ~ed.
VERB: be V-ed, also V n
~ing
Tracking assigns some students to college prep and others to vocational programs.
N-UNCOUNT
11.
see also back~ , fast ~ , race~ , side~ , sound~ , title ~
12.
If someone covers their ~s, they hide or destroy evidence of their identity or their actions, because they want to keep them secret.
He covered his ~s, burnt letters and diaries...
PHRASE: V inflects
13.
If you say that someone has the inside ~, you mean that they have an advantage, for example special knowledge about something. (mainly AM or JOURNALISM)
Denver has the inside ~ among 10 sites being considered...
PHRASE: V inflects
14.
If you keep ~ of a situation or a person, you make sure that you have the newest and most accurate information about them all the time.
With eleven thousand employees, it’s very difficult to keep ~ of them all...
PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n
15.
If you lose ~ of someone or something, you no longer know where they are or what is happening.
You become so deeply absorbed in an activity that you lose ~ of time...
PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n
16.
If you make ~s, you leave the place where you are, especially when you are in a hurry. (INFORMAL)
We’d better make ~s soon, hadn’t we?
PHRASE: V inflects
17.
If someone or something is on ~, they are acting or progressing in a way that is likely to result in success.
It may take some time to get the British economy back on ~...
PHRASE: PHR after v, v-link PHR
18.
If you are on the ~ of someone or something, you are trying to find them, or find information about them.
He was on the ~ of an escaped criminal...
= on the trail of
PHRASE: PHR n, usu v-link PHR
19.
If you are on the right ~, you are acting or progressing in a way that is likely to result in success. If you are on the wrong ~, you are acting or progressing in a way that is likely to result in failure.
Guests are returning in increasing numbers–a sure sign that we are on the right ~...
The country was headed on the wrong ~, economically.
PHRASE: v-link PHR, PHR after v
20.
If someone or something stops you in your ~s, or if you stop dead in your ~s, you suddenly stop moving because you are very surprised, impressed, or frightened.
The thought almost stopped me dead in my ~s.
PHRASE: V inflects
21.
If someone or something stops a process or activity in its ~s, or if it stops dead in its ~s, they prevent the process or activity from continuing.
U.S. manufacturers may find the export boom stopping dead in its ~s.
PHRASE: V inflects
22.
off the beaten ~: see beaten