Track

Track is a word with several related senses in English. As a noun, it commonly denotes a prepared surface or route for movement. A track may be a path worn by people or animals through outdoor terrain, a route cleared for vehicles, or a man-made facility such as a railroad track, which consists of rails, sleepers, and ballast that support rolling stock and define gauge.

A track can also mean a course used for races or athletic events, typically an oval or loop with marked lanes, or a section of a larger facility used for running, walking, or cycling. In music and audio, a track is a single recorded piece or song on an album or compilation; in digital media a track is stored as a separate audio file with a duration.

In recording and media production, a track can refer to a separate layer or channel in a multi-track recording, allowing individual instruments or voices to be edited independently.

As a verb, to track means to follow the movement or progress of someone or something, often to monitor location, status, or history. It can also mean to record, trace, or identify the origin or path of something, or to pursue and locate it, as in tracking a shipment or a suspect.

The term appears in phrases such as on track, meaning proceeding as planned, and tracing tracks or footprints in archaeology, forensics, or natural history.