Library / English Dictionary

TRACT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A bundle of myelinated nerve fibers following a path through the brain

Synonyms:

nerve pathway; nerve tract; pathway; tract

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Hypernyms ("tract" is a kind of...):

substantia alba; white matter (whitish nervous tissue of the CNS consisting of neurons and their myelin sheaths)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "tract"):

optic radiation; radiatio optica (a nerve pathway from the lateral geniculate body to the visual cortex)

commissure (a bundle of nerve fibers passing from one side to the other of the brain or spinal cord)

cerebral peduncle; peduncle (a bundle of myelinated neurons joining different parts of the brain)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A system of body parts that together serve some particular purpose

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Hypernyms ("tract" is a kind of...):

system (a group of physiologically or anatomically related organs or parts)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "tract"):

airway; respiratory tract (the passages through which air enters and leaves the body)

urinary tract (the organs and tubes involved in the production and excretion of urine)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A brief treatise on a subject of interest; published in the form of a booklet

Synonyms:

pamphlet; tract

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("tract" is a kind of...):

treatise (a formal exposition)

Sense 4

Meaning:

An extended area of land

Synonyms:

parcel; parcel of land; piece of ground; piece of land; tract

Classified under:

Nouns denoting spatial position

Hypernyms ("tract" is a kind of...):

geographic area; geographic region; geographical area; geographical region (a demarcated area of the Earth)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "tract"):

parade ground (an area for holding parades)

fairground (an open area for holding fairs or exhibitions or circuses)

midway (the place at a fair or carnival where sideshows and similar amusements are located)

fairway (a tract of ground free of obstacles to movement)

park; parkland (a large area of land preserved in its natural state as public property)

common; commons; green; park (a piece of open land for recreational use in an urban area)

picnic area; picnic ground (a tract of land set aside for picnicking)

public square; square (an open area at the meeting of two or more streets)

toll plaza (an area where tollbooths are located)

range (a large tract of grassy open land on which livestock can graze)

sector (a portion of a military position)

land site; site (the piece of land on which something is located (or is to be located))

subdivision (an area composed of subdivided lots)

mine field (a tract of land containing explosive mines)

terrain (a piece of ground having specific characteristics or military potential)

patch; plot; plot of ground; plot of land (a small area of ground covered by specific vegetation)

lot (a parcel of land having fixed boundaries)

yard (a tract of land enclosed for particular activities (sometimes paved and usually associated with buildings))

yard (a tract of land where logs are accumulated)

baseball diamond; diamond; infield (the area of a baseball field that is enclosed by 3 bases and home plate)

center; center field; centerfield (the piece of ground in the outfield directly ahead of the catcher)

left; left field; leftfield (the piece of ground in the outfield on the catcher's left)

outfield (the area of a baseball playing field beyond the lines connecting the bases)

right; right field; rightfield (the piece of ground in the outfield on the catcher's right)

short (the location on a baseball field where the shortstop is stationed)

railway yard; railyard; yard (an area having a network of railway tracks and sidings for storage and maintenance of cars and engines)

desert (arid land with little or no vegetation)

oasis (a fertile tract in a desert (where the water table approaches the surface))

battlefield; battleground; field; field of battle; field of honor (a region where a battle is being (or has been) fought)

minefield (a region in which explosives mines have been placed)

breeding ground (a place where animals breed)

clearing; glade (a tract of land with few or no trees in the middle of a wooded area)

field (a piece of land cleared of trees and usually enclosed)

field of fire (the area that a weapon or group of weapons can cover effectively with gun fire from a given position)

grounds (a tract of land cleared for some special purposes (recreation or burial etc.))

athletic field; field; playing area; playing field (a piece of land prepared for playing a game)

industrial park (a tract of land at a distance from city center that is designed for a cluster of businesses and factories)

grassland (land where grass or grasslike vegetation grows and is the dominant form of plant life)

mud flat (a tract of low muddy land near an estuary; covered at high tide and exposed at low tide)

Credits

 Context examples: 

The combined organs and tissues of the respiratory tract and the upper part of the digestive tract (including the lips, mouth, tongue, nose, throat, vocal cords, and part of the esophagus and windpipe).

(Aerodigestive tract, NCI Dictionary)

A. viridans is rarely pathogenic in humans but may be associated with urinary tract infections and endocarditis in immunocompromised patients.

(Aerococcus viridans, NCI Thesaurus)

A member of a family of viruses that can cause infections in the respiratory tract, eye, and gastrointestinal tract.

(Adenovirus, NCI Dictionary)

In the gastrointestinal tract, when dysplasia becomes severe it is sometimes called carcinoma in situ.

(Adenoma, NCI Thesaurus)

A. israelii is found in the flora of the human oral and nasopharyngeal tract and in animals and is the most frequent cause of actinomycosis in humans.

(Actinomyces israelii, NCI Thesaurus)

Chronic inhalation of its dust may cause asbestosis and increases the risk of respiratory tract cancer, mesothelioma and other lung cancers.

(Actinolite Asbestos, NCI Thesaurus)

A. lignieresii is part of the normal flora of the mucosa of the upper gastrointestinal tract and may cause tumorous abscesses in the tongue of cattle, sheep, horses, pigs and dogs.

(Actinobacillus lignieresii, NCI Thesaurus)

It is characterized by the formation of purulent and painful abscesses in the mouth, lungs and gastrointestinal tract.

(Actinomycosis, NCI Thesaurus)

Inflammatory cells are composed of primarily neutrophils or eosinophils typically associated with little other damage to the intestinal tract

(Acute Enteritis of the Mouse Intestinal Tract, NCI Thesaurus/MMHCC)

Adenocarcinomas developing in gastrointestinal tract adenomas in patients with multiple adenomatous polyps.

(Adenocarcinoma in Multiple Adenomatous Polyps, NCI Thesaurus)