track n

1. a mark left by someone or smth. that has passed, as the tracks of an animal (a car); to leave tracks, to follow the tracks of; tracks in the snow (in the sand): We followed the tyre tracks across a muddy field. The tracks, which looked like a fox’s, led into the woods.

to be on the track of smb. – to be in pursuit of smb.: The police were on the track of the thief.

to cover up one’s tracks – to conceal one’s movements: The man was sure he had covered up his tracks.

2. a path, a narrow rough road, as a track through a forest (a field); a narrow, hardly visible track: The road leading to the farm was little more than a dirt track. The track led through dense forest.

the beaten track/path – the usual way of doing things: Andrew was not a person to follow the beaten track.

to keep (lose) track of – to keep in (lose) touch with: You should keep track of current events.

3. a set of rails on which trains or trams run, as a single (double) track: The train for Boston is leaving from track 2.

to be on the right/wrong track – to think in a way that is likely to lead to a correct or incorrect result: We’ve had the initial test results and it looks as though we’re on the right track.

to stop/halt (dead) in your tracks – to suddenly stop, especially because something has frightened or surprised you: She was so shocked that she stopped dead in her tracks.

to cover your tracks – to be careful not to leave any signs that could let people know where you have been or what you have done because you want to keep it a secret, usually because it is illegal: He tried to cover his tracks by burning all the documents.

track v t/i

1. to search for a person or animal by following the marks they leave behind them on the ground, their smell etc: Police have been tracking the four criminals all over Central America.

to track somebody to something: The dogs tracked the wolf to its lair.

2. to record or study the behaviour or development of someone or something over time: The progress of each student is tracked by computer.

3. to leave behind a track of something such as mud or dirt when you walk: Which of you boys tracked mud all over the kitchen floor?

to track somebody/something down – to find someone or something that is difficult to find by searching or looking for information in several different places: I finally managed to track down the book you wanted in a shop near the station.

outline n

1. lines showing shapes or boundary, as an outline map (of Africa, Europe, etc.); the outline (outlines) of a building (trees, mountains): Lanny could hardly make out the outlines of the big house in the dark.

2. a general statement of the chief points of smth., as an outline of a composition (a lecture, a book).

in outline – done roughly, told briefly: Bosinney showed Soames the design of the house in outline. I can tell you the article in outline.

a broad/general outline – the main ideas or parts of something rather than all the details: The report gives only a broad outline of the company's performance.

a rough outline – one that has no details and that might change: Thompson gave me a rough outline of what had happened at the previous meeting.

a vague/dim outline – difficult to see: I could just make out a vague outline of a barn.

trace an outline – draw the outline of something, usually with your finger or toe: She traced the outline of his lips with her fingers.

outline v t

1. to give the main points of, as to outline a certain historical period (events, etc.).

to be outlined against smth. – to stand out against smth.: She was outlined against the sky.

2. to show the edge of something, or draw around its edge, so that its shape is clear: A map with our property outlined in red.

rough adj

1. (of surfaces) uneven, irregular, coarse, as rough paper, a rough road, rough hair: Her hands were rough from hard work. We were bumping over the rough ground.

2. moving or acting violently, not calm, mild, or gentle, as a rough sea, a rough crossing, a rough day, a rough child, rough luck: Sounds like you had a rough day. The ship went down in rough seas.

3. unskilled; incomplete, not perfect, as a rough sketch, a rough translation: We have only a rough sketch of the house.

a rough diamond - an uncut diamond

fig. a good-hearted but uncultured fellow

4. (of conduct or speech) rude; uncivil, as rough reply, rough words

to be rough on somebody – treat someone unkindly or criticize them in an angry way: Don’t you think you were a little rough on her?

a rough tongue - rude angry speech

5. (of sounds) harsh, discordant, as a rough voice

a) not sounding soft or gentle, and often rather unpleasant or angry: Barton’s deep, rough voice

b) having an unpleasant sound, especially because there is something wrong with a machine: The clutch sounds rough – better get it checked.

6. not comfortable, uncomfortable, and with difficult conditions: The journey was long and rough.

to have rough edges (also to be rough around the edges)

a) to have some parts that are not as good as they should be, but that are not a serious problem: The team has a few rough edges, but they’re winning more games.

b) if a person is rough around the edges, they are not very polite, educated etc.

a rough night – a night when you did not sleep well: Mickey had a rough night last night.

a rough deal – something that happens to you that is unfair or unpleasant: He’s had a rough deal with his wife leaving him like that.

a rough justice – punishment that is not decided in a court in the usual legal way, and that is often severe or unfair: Gangs practise a kind of rough justice on their members.

Syn.: coarse, rude, harsh.

rough n

1. the rough uneven ground with long grass on an area where people play golf.

2. take the rough with the smooth – to accept the bad things in life as well as the good ones: You have to learn to take the rough with the smooth.

3. a picture drawn very quickly, not showing all the details: a rough of the proposed housing development.

4. in rough British English if you write or draw something in rough, you do it without paying attention to details or tidiness, because you are going to do it again later: It’s best to work in rough first, and then write it out neatly.

rough v

rough it (informal) – to live for a short time in conditions that are not very comfortable: I don’t mind roughing it for a while.

rough something out – to draw or write something without including all the details: A diagram the engineer had roughed out on his notepad.

rough somebody up (informal) – to attack someone and hurt them by hitting them.

rough adv

1. sleep rough – to sleep outside with nothing to protect you from the weather, especially because you have no home to live in: The number of people sleeping rough on the street.

2. play rough – to play in a fairly violent way.