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ex·tract (ĭk-străkt)
Share:
tr.v. ex·tract·ed, ex·tract·ing, ex·tracts
1. To draw or pull out, often with great force or effort: extract a wisdom tooth; used tweezers to extract the splinter.
2. To obtain despite resistance: extract a promise.
3. To obtain from a substance by chemical or mechanical action, as by pressure, distillation, or evaporation.
4. To remove for separate consideration or publication; excerpt.
5.
a. To derive or obtain (information, for example) from a source.
b. To deduce (a principle or doctrine); construe (a meaning).
c. To derive (pleasure or comfort) from an experience.
6. Mathematics To determine or calculate (the root of a number).
n. (ĕkstrăkt)
Something extracted, especially:
a. A passage from a literary work; an excerpt.
b. A concentrated preparation of the essential constituents of a food, flavoring, or other substance; a concentrate: maple extract.

[Middle English extracten, from Latin extrahere, extract- : ex-, ex- + trahere, to draw.]

ex·tracta·ble, ex·tracti·ble adj.
ex·tractor n.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.