track down

B1 neutral separable transitive

In simple words

find someone or something after looking hard

Literal meaning: to follow tracks until you reach the person or thing

Meanings

1 B1 idiomatic neutral

very common

to find a person or thing after searching for them carefully or for a long time

"I finally tracked down the book I needed at a second-hand shop."

"Police tracked down the suspect within hours."
— common news report phrasing; no single verifiable source recalled

Grammar: separable

2 B1 idiomatic neutral

common

to obtain information by searching persistently

"Can you track down her email address for me?"

Grammar: separable

Usage notes

Very common in everyday and journalistic English. Used for people, documents, information, and stolen items.

suspect owner address information witness document

Base

track down

I/you/we/they

3rd person

tracks down

he/she/it

Past simple

tracked down

yesterday

Past participle

tracked down

have + pp

-ing form

tracking down

continuous

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