~ 1
■ noun
1》 a rough path or minor road.
2》 a prepared course or circuit for racing.
3》 a mark or line of marks left by a person, animal, or vehicle in passing.
↘the course followed by someone or something.
4》 a continuous line of rails on a railway.
5》 a strip or rail along which something (e.g. a curtain) may be moved.
6》 a continuous articulated metal band around the wheels of a heavy vehicle such as a tank, facilitating movement over difficult ground.
7》 Electronics a continuous line of conductive material on a printed circuit board, connecting parts of a circuit.
8》 a section of a record, compact disc, or cassette tape containing one song or piece of music. [orig. denoting a groove on a gramophone record.]
↘a lengthwise strip of magnetic tape containing one sequence of signals.
9》 the transverse distance between a vehicle's wheels.
10》 US term for stream (in sense 3).
■ verb
1》 follow the course or movements of.
↘( ~ someone/thing down ) find someone or something after a lengthy search.
↘follow a course.
↘(of a stylus) follow (a groove in a record).
↘(of a film or television camera) move in relation to the subject being filmed. [with ref. to early filming when a camera was mobile by means of a ~.]
2》 (of wheels) run so that the back ones are exactly in the ~ of the front ones.
3》 Electronics (of a tunable circuit or component) vary in frequency in the same way as another circuit or component.
4》 ( ~ something up ) N. Amer. leave a trail of dirty footprints on a surface.
↘( ~ something in ) leave a trail of dirt or snow from one's feet.
Phrases
keep (or lose ) ~ of keep (or fail to keep) fully aware of or informed about.
make ~s ( for ) informal leave (for a place).
on the right (or wrong ) ~ following a course likely to result in success (or failure).
on ~ following a course likely to achieve what is required.
stop (or be stopped ) in one's ~s informal be brought to a sudden and complete halt.
the wrong side of the ~s informal a poor or less prestigious part of town. [with ref. to the railway ~s of American towns, once serving as a line of demarcation between rich and poor quarters.]
Derivatives
~age noun ( N. Amer. ).
~less adjective
Origin
C15: the noun from OFr. trac , perh. from Low Ger. or Du. trek 'draught, drawing'; the verb from Fr. traquer or directly from the noun.
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~ 2
■ verb tow (a canoe) along a waterway from the bank.
Origin
C18: appar. from Du. trekken 'to pull or travel'; the change in the vowel was due to assoc. with ~ 1 .