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Meaning & use

a tracker

noun·Everyday

Last updated

UK/ə ˈtrækə/
US/ə ˈtrækər/

Meanings

  1. nouncountable

    A device or app that follows and records where a person or thing moves.

    Grammar: Countable: 'a tracker', 'two trackers'.

    Patterns

    • a fitness tracker
    • a GPS tracker
    • use a tracker to do something

    She wears a fitness tracker to count her daily steps.

    The company put a GPS tracker in every delivery van.

  2. nouncountablecomputing

    Software that records which websites you visit or how you use an app.

    Grammar: Often used in the plural: 'block trackers'.

    Patterns

    • block trackers
    • online trackers
    • a web tracker

    This browser blocks trackers that follow you across websites.

    Ad trackers collect data about what you click on.

  3. nouncountable

    A person who searches for wild animals by following their marks or footprints.

    Grammar: Countable; often with 'skilled' or 'expert'.

    Patterns

    • a skilled tracker
    • a tracker followed something

    A skilled tracker found the missing hikers by reading footprints.

    The tracker followed the deer through the forest for hours.

Word forms

pluraltrackers

Common combinations

a fitness tracker
My fitness tracker says I walked 12,000 steps today.
a GPS tracker
Parents sometimes put a GPS tracker in a child's backpack.
block trackers
You can block trackers in your browser settings.
an expert tracker
The police brought in an expert tracker to search the woods.
a tracker app
He installed a tracker app to monitor his spending.

Synonyms and how they differ

monitor
A monitor is a screen or a device that watches conditions like heart rate; a tracker specifically records movement or location over time.
tag
A tag is attached to an object so it can be identified; a tracker actively reports where that object goes.

Word family

track verb
To follow the movement or progress of someone or something.
tracking noun
The act of following and recording movement.
trackable adjective
Able to be followed or recorded.

Commonly confused: a tracker or tractor?

a tracker vs tractor

A tractor is a farm vehicle; a tracker is a device or person that follows movement. They sound similar but are unrelated.

Practice

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