track down

Meaning

'Track down' means to find someone or something after a long, difficult, or systematic search. It implies that the search required effort, investigation, or following clues, much like a hunter tracking prey. It is used in both casual and professional daily contexts.

Examples

• It took me three weeks to track down a physical copy of that rare book.

  It took me three weeks to track down a physical copy of that rare book.

• The police finally managed to track down the owner of the abandoned car.

  The police finally managed to track down the owner of the abandoned car.

• I've been trying to track down my old high school friend on social media.

  I've been trying to track down my old high school friend on social media.

• We need to track down the source of this water leak before it ruins the floor.

  We need to track down the source of this water leak before it ruins the floor.

• She tracked me down at the library to return the keys I had dropped.

  She tracked me down at the library to return the keys I had dropped.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ I tracked down to my lost keys.

  ✓ I tracked down my lost keys.

  'Track down' is a transitive phrasal verb. Do not put the preposition 'to' between the phrasal verb and the object you found.

• ✗ I tracked up the missing documents.

  ✓ I tracked down the missing documents.

  Use 'down' instead of 'up' here. 'Track down' is the correct idiomatic phrase for locating something after a search.

Related Expressions

Practice

• I am trying to ___ the owner of this lost dog.

  💡 Find someone after searching.

  Show answer

  track down

• Can you help me ___ that email you sent me last month?

  💡 Search for and find a specific item.

  Show answer

  track down