tractor

American  

[trak-ter] / ˈtræk tər /

noun

1. a powerful motor-driven vehicle with large, heavy treads, used for pulling farm machinery, other vehicles, etc.

2. Also called truck tractor.  a short truck with a driver's cab but no body, designed for hauling a trailer or semitrailer.

3. something used for drawing or pulling.

4. Aeronautics.

   1. a propeller mounted at the front of an airplane, thus exerting a pull.

   2. Also called tractor airplane.  an airplane with a propeller so mounted.

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tractor British  

/ ˈtræktə /

noun

1. a motor vehicle used to pull heavy loads, esp farm machinery such as a plough or harvester. It usually has two large rear wheels with deeply treaded tyres

2. a short motor vehicle with a powerful engine and a driver's cab, used to pull a trailer, as in an articulated lorry

3. an aircraft with its propeller or propellers mounted in front of the engine

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Etymology

Origin of tractor

1855–60; < Latin trac-, variant stem of trahere to draw, pull + -tor -tor

Example Sentences

Sustained protests - the regular convoys of tractors, horns blaring, converging on Parliament Square - certainly played a part.

From BBC

Thousands of farmers protested the deal outside a Brussels meeting of EU leaders on Thursday, rolling around 1,000 honking tractors into the city.

From Barron's

More than 150 tractors clogged the streets of central Brussels Thursday morning with many more expected.

From Barron's

Sheep graze on nearby farmland, and tractors are a regular sight.

From The Wall Street Journal

He fixed the roof with the help of a local tractor driver.

From The Wall Street Journal