extract
Americanverb (used with object)
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extracts,
present (3rd person singular)
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extracted,
past participle, past
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extracting
present participle
-
to get, pull, or draw out, usually with special effort, skill, or force.
to extract a tooth.
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to deduce (a doctrine, principle, interpretation, etc.).
He extracted a completely personal meaning from what was said.
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to derive or obtain (pleasure, comfort, etc.) from a particular source.
He extracted satisfaction from the success of his sons.
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to take or copy out (matter), as from a book.
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to make excerpts from (a book, pamphlet, etc.).
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to extort (information, money, etc.).
to extract a secret from someone.
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to separate or obtain (a juice, ingredient, etc.) from a mixture by pressure, distillation, treatment with solvents, or the like.
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Mathematics.
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to determine (the root of a quantity that has a single root).
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to determine (a root of a quantity that has multiple roots).
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noun
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extracts
plural
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something extracted.
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a passage taken from a book, article, etc.; excerpt; quotation.
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a solution or preparation containing the active principles of a drug, plant juice, or the like; concentrated solution.
vanilla extract.
- Synonyms:
- distillation, decoction
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a solid, viscid, or liquid substance extracted from a plant, drug, or the like, containing its essence in concentrated form.
beef extract.
verb
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to withdraw, pull out, or uproot by force
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to remove or separate
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to derive (pleasure, information, etc) from some source or situation
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to deduce or develop (a doctrine, policy, etc)
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informal to extort (money, etc)
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to obtain (a substance) from a mixture or material by a chemical or physical process, such as digestion, distillation, the action of a solvent, or mechanical separation
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to cut out or copy out (an article, passage, quotation, etc) from a publication
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to determine the value of (the root of a number)
noun
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something extracted, such as a part or passage from a book, speech, etc
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a preparation containing the active principle or concentrated essence of a material
beef extract
yeast extract
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pharmacol a solution of plant or animal tissue containing the active principle
Usage
Extract is sometimes wrongly used where extricate would be better: he will find it difficult extricating (not extracting ) himself from this situation
Synonym Usage
Extract, exact, extort, wrest imply using force to remove something. To extract is to draw forth something as by pulling, importuning, or the like: to extract a confession by torture. To exact is to impose a penalty, or to obtain by force or authority, something to which one lays claim: to exact payment. To extort is to wring something by intimidation or threats from an unwilling person: to extort money by threats of blackmail. To wrest is to take by force or violence in spite of active resistance: The courageous minority wrested power from their oppressors.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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extractabilitynoun
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extractibilitynoun
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overextractverb (used with object)
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preextractverb (used with object)
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extractableadjective
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extractibleadjective
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nonextractableadjective
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nonextractedadjective
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nonextractibleadjective
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unextractableadjective
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unextractedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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extractsimple
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extractssimple
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have extractedperfect
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has extractedperfect
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am extractingprogressive
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are extractingprogressive
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is extractingprogressive
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have been extractingperfect progressive
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has been extractingperfect progressive
Past
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extractedsimple
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had extractedperfect
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was extractingprogressive
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were extractingprogressive
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had been extractingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of extract
First recorded in 1475–1500; from Latin extractus (past participle of extrahere ). See ex- 1, tract 1
Explanation
When you extract something, you remove it from a larger whole. You can extract a passage from a book, or a liquid essence from a vanilla bean—vanilla extract. Ex- means out of, and when you extract, you draw something out of something else. When listening to a complicated and long-winded story, it can be difficult to extract the truly meaningful details.
Vocabulary lists containing extract
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, Chapters 12–15
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Words to Know Before You Defrost the Bird
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
In a lab at the Center for DNA Identification in Hanoi last week, technicians carefully cut into bone fragments separated from remains to extract samples for DNA analysis.
From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026
Their goal was to carefully schedule when each instrument could operate and extract as much science and calibration time as possible from the spacecraft's limited resources.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 3, 2026
It fell to USIP’s security chief to extract what in the end amounted to 256 people.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
"I was driving very tense most of the time, I wasn't able to extract the potential out of me," he says.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
It had taken nearly a week of hard labor to extract that tiny little piece.
From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam
"It's undoubtedly better than before. Before, this oil wasn't being extracted; if no one extracts it, no one pays royalties, and no one profits from it," he said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 30, 2026
The company is most known for its camera network, which extracts data about cars from photographs and allows operators to search for vehicles by description or license plate number.
From Salon ● Aug. 17, 2026
About 70% of Happy Hippo’s sales come from plain-leaf powder and capsules, with the remainder from concentrated liquid extracts, gummies and flavor-infused taffy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
Tests showed that extracts from the bean gum lowered HPV levels by 93% in saliva samples.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 4, 2026
He reaches beneath the counter and extracts the soft-cloth bundle.
From "X: A Novel" by Ilyasah Shabazz
To find the biological machinery behind this unusual behavior, Lerner extracted DNA from the entire community of microorganisms living in the soil samples.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026
He has also successfully extracted multimillion-dollar settlements from CBS and ABC after suing the networks over news content he believed treated him unfairly.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
Stroll joined Alonso in Q2 and kept himself out of trouble through a chaotic race to finish 12th, even if his team-mate ultimately extracted more from the opportunity.
From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026
The bullet still hadn’t been extracted, Lincoln-Goldfinch said Tuesday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
These I steeped in hot water, and so from the whole of these appliances extracted one cup of I don’t know what for Estella.
From "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens
Other companies are extracting insights from large amounts of data for algorithmic-pricing strategies.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
"Just by extracting a DNA profile is not enough to identify someone," Thapa said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026
Librettists Kelley Rourke and Matt Foss have skillfully adapted the story, extracting its essential events and distilling them into a taut 90 minutes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026
Two other Republicans who had threatened Blanche’s nomination, Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, ultimately voted to confirm him after extracting concessions.
From Salon ● Aug. 8, 2026
“Errol!” said Ron, taking the limp owl from Percy and extracting a letter from under its wing.
From "Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets" by J. K. Rowling
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