The difference between Track and Trail

When used as nouns, track means a mark left by something that has passed along, whereas trail means the track or indication marking the route followed by something that has passed, such as the footprints of animal on land or the contrail of an airplane in the sky.

When used as verbs, track means to observe the (measured) state of a person or object over time, whereas trail means to follow behind (someone or something).

check bellow for the other definitions of Track and Trail

  1. Track as a noun:

    A mark left by something that has passed along.

    Examples:

    "Follow the track of the ship."

    "Can you see any tracks in the snow?"

  2. Track as a noun:

    A mark or impression left by the foot, either of man or animal.

    Examples:

    "The fox tracks were still visible in the snow."

  3. Track as a noun:

    The entire lower surface of the foot; said of birds, etc.

  4. Track as a noun:

    A road or other similar beaten path.

    Examples:

    "Follow the track for a hundred metres."

  5. Track as a noun:

    Physical course; way.

    Examples:

    "Astronomers predicted the track of the comet."

  6. Track as a noun:

    A path or course laid out for a race, for exercise, etc.

    Examples:

    "The athletes ran round the track."

  7. Track as a noun:

    The direction and progress of someone or something; path.

  8. Track as a noun (railways):

    The way or rails along which a train moves.

    Examples:

    "They briefly closed the railway to remove debris found on the track."

  9. Track as a noun:

    A tract or area, such as of land.

  10. Track as a noun:

    Awareness of something, especially when arising from close monitoring.

  11. Track as a noun (automotive):

    The distance between two opposite wheels on a same axletree (also track width)

  12. Track as a noun (automotive):

    Short for caterpillar track.

  13. Track as a noun (cricket):

    The pitch.

  14. Track as a noun:

    Sound stored on a record.

  15. Track as a noun:

    The physical track on a record.

  16. Track as a noun (music):

    A song or other relatively short piece of music, on a record, separated from others by a short silence

    Examples:

    "My favourite track on the album is "Sunshine"."

  17. Track as a noun:

    A circular (never-ending) data storage unit on a side of magnetic or optical disk, divided into sectors.

  18. Track as a noun (uncountable, sports):

    The racing events of track and field; track and field in general.

    Examples:

    "I'm going to try out for track next week."

  19. Track as a noun:

    A session talk on a conference.

  1. Track as a verb (transitive):

    To continue observing over time. To observe the (measured) state of a person or object over time. To monitor the movement of a person or object. To match the movement or change of a person or object. To travel so that a moving object remains in shot. To move.

    Examples:

    "We will track the raven population over the next six months."

    "Agent Miles has been tracking the terrorist since Madrid."

    "My height tracks my father's at my age, so I might end up as tall as him."

    "The camera tracked the ball even as the field of play moved back and forth, keeping the action in shot the entire time."

    "The hurricane tracked further west than expected."

  2. Track as a verb (transitive):

    To follow the tracks of. To discover the location of a person or object. To leave in the form of tracks.

    Examples:

    "My uncle spent all day tracking the deer, whose hoofprints were clear in the mud."

    "I tracked Joe to his friend's bedroom, where he had spent the night."

    "In winter, my cat tracks mud all over the house."

  3. Track as a verb (transitive, or, intransitive):

    To create a musical recording (a track). To create music using tracker software.

    Examples:

    "Lil Kyle is gonna track with that DJ next week."

  1. Trail as a verb (transitive):

    To follow behind (someone or something); to tail (someone or something).

    Examples:

    "The hunters trailed their prey deep into the woods."

  2. Trail as a verb (transitive):

    To drag (something) behind on the ground.

    Examples:

    "You'll get your coat all muddy if you trail it around like that."

  3. Trail as a verb (transitive):

    To leave (a trail of).

    Examples:

    "He walked into the house, soaking wet, and trailed water all over the place."

  4. Trail as a verb (transitive):

    To show a trailer of (a film, TV show etc.); to release or publish a preview of (a report etc.) in advance of the full publication.

    Examples:

    "His new film was trailed on TV last night."

    "There were no surprises in this morning's much-trailed budget statement."

  5. Trail as a verb:

    To be losing, to be behind in a competition.

  6. Trail as a verb (military):

    To carry (a firearm) with the breech near the ground and the upper part inclined forward, the piece being held by the right hand near the middle.

  7. Trail as a verb:

    To flatten (grass, etc.) by walking through it; to tread down.

    Examples:

    "rfquotek Longfellow"

  8. Trail as a verb (dated):

    To take advantage of the ignorance of; to impose upon.

  1. Trail as a noun:

    The track or indication marking the route followed by something that has passed, such as the footprints of animal on land or the contrail of an airplane in the sky.

  2. Trail as a noun:

    A route for travel over land, especially a narrow, unpaved pathway for use by hikers, horseback riders, etc.

  3. Trail as a noun:

    A trailer broadcast on television for a forthcoming film or programme.

  4. Trail as a noun (graph theory):

    A walk in which all the edges are distinct.

Compare words:

Compare with synonyms and related words: