on the track of something Definition

track
noun

1a. A mark or series of marks that something leaves behind;

Example: a tyre track
Thesaurus: trail, footprint, impression, trace, mark, remnant, clue.
1b. A mark or series of marks, or a trail, that usually consists of footprints, and which indicates that a person, animal, etc has passed by;
1c. A course of action, thought, etc that someone or something has taken.

Example: followed in her mother's tracks and studied medicine
2. A rough path, especially one that has been made by many people walking along it.

Thesaurus: course, path, road, route, passage, lane, walk.
3. A specially prepared course, especially one that is used for racing.

Example: a race track
4. The branch of athletics that comprises all the running events. See also track and field.
5. A railway line, ie the parallel rails, the space in between, and the sleepers and stones below.
6. A length of railing that something, such as a curtain, spotlight, etc, can move along.
7a. The groove cut in a record (noun 4) by the recording instrument;
7b. An individual song, etc on an album, CD, cassette, etc;
7c. One of several paths on magnetic recording tape that receives information from a single input channel;
7d. One of a series of parallel paths on magnetic recording tape that contains a single sequence of signals;
7e. A soundtrack;
7f. computing.
An area on the surface of a magnetic disk where data can be stored and which is created during the process of formatting.
8. A line, path or course of travel, passage or movement.

Example: followed the track of the storm
9. The line or course of thought, reasoning, etc.

Example: couldn't follow the track of his argument
10. The predetermined line of travel of an aircraft.
11. The continuous band that heavy vehicles, eg tanks, mechanical diggers, etc, have instead of individual tyres and which allows them to travel over rough surfaces.
12. The distance between a wheel on one side of a vehicle and the corresponding wheel on the other side, taken by measuring the distance between the parts of the wheels which actually touch the ground.
13. drug-taking slang
A red mark, eg on someone's forearm, that indicates that they use or have used intravenous drugs.
Form: tracks (usually)

verb tracked, tracking

1. To follow the marks, footprints, etc left by (a person or animal).

Thesaurus: follow, hunt, trail, pursue, stalk, dog (slang).
2. To follow and usually plot the course of (a spacecraft, satellite, etc) by radar.
intr
3. Said of a television or film camera or its operator: to move, especially in such a way as to follow a moving subject, always keeping them or it in focus. See also tracking shot.

Form: track in (often)
Form: track out
Form: track back
4. Said of a stylus or laser beam: to extract information from (a recording medium, eg a vinyl record or a compact disc).
intr
5. Said of a vehicle's rear wheels: to run exactly in the course of the front wheels.

Idiom: across the tracks

colloq
A socially disadvantaged area of town.

Idiom: cover one's tracks

To make an effort to ensure that one's motives, movements, etc cannot be easily discovered.

Idiom: in one's tracks

Exactly where one is standing; right there and then.
Example: The news stopped her in her tracks

Idiom: keep track of something or someone (lose track of something or someone)

To keep, or fail to keep, oneself informed about the progress, whereabouts, etc of them or it.
Example: Sorry I'm late ― I lost all track of time

Idiom: make tracks

colloq
To leave; to set out.
Thesaurus: leave, depart, set out, dash off, hurry, make off, hit the road, scram (slang), split (slang).

Idiom: off the beaten track

Away from busy roads and therefore difficult to gain access to or find.

Idiom: on the right track (on the wrong track)

Pursuing the right or wrong line of inquiry.

Idiom: on the track of someone or something

Following, pursuing or looking for them or it.

Idiom: the wrong side of the tracks

A poor or disadvantaged urban area, especially one that is perceived as socially inferior.

Etymology: 15c: from French trac.

Phrasal Verb: track someone or something down

To search for and find them or it after following clues, etc.
Example: managed to track down the address