half-track

American  

[haf-trak, hahf-] / ˈhæfˌtræk, ˈhɑf- /

Or halftrack

noun

1. a caterpillar tread that runs over and under the rear or driving wheels of a vehicle but is not connected with the forward wheels: used especially on military vehicles.

2. a motor vehicle with rear driving wheels on caterpillar treads.

3. Military. an armored vehicle equipped with half-tracks.

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half-track British  

noun

1. a vehicle with caterpillar tracks on the wheels that supply motive power only

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Other Word Forms

• half-tracked adjective

Etymology

Origin of half-track

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

He scrambled out of his half-track and hid behind a well.

From Seattle Times • May 29, 2024

I could also hear the clank of a track vehicle and realized that it was a tank or half-track of some kind.

From Time Magazine Archive

Few of the 300 foreign correspondents who flooded into the country had trouble getting to one of the fronts in some military vehicle� helicopter, half-track or torpedo boat.

From Time Magazine Archive

Laborite Deputy Prime Minister Clement R. Attlee, in a half-track just behind, smiled and waved.

From Time Magazine Archive

Ishmael was commandeered to help dig free a half-track that had been deposited on Betio by a tank lighter and had promptly buried itself.

From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson