Meaning & use
off-tracking
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Meaning
noununcountabletechnicalspecialist
the amount by which the rear wheels of a long vehicle move inward when it turns.
Grammar: Uncountable; used with the definite article: the off-tracking of the trailer.
Patterns
- the off-tracking of something
- reduce off-tracking
- off-tracking occurs
The off-tracking of the trailer made the turn very tight.
Engineers design wider corners to allow for off-tracking.
Off-tracking increases with the length of the vehicle.
Common combinations
- rear-wheel off-tracking
- Rear-wheel off-tracking is a key factor in road design.
- reduce off-tracking
- Steering systems can reduce off-tracking on sharp bends.
- off-tracking occurs
- Off-tracking occurs when the vehicle turns a corner.
Synonyms and how they differ
- cheating
- An informal term used in some regions for the same effect, but not standard in technical writing.
Word family
- track verb
- To follow the path of something.
Commonly confused: off-tracking or tracking?
off-tracking vs tracking
Tracking means following or recording position; off-tracking is specifically the sideways movement of wheels.
Practice
What does 'off-tracking' refer to in vehicle engineering?
Choose one answer.
Off-tracking is the technical term for the rear wheels cutting inside the path of the front wheels. The other options describe different vehicle concepts.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “off-tracking”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.