extract

[ verb ik-strakt or, especially for 5, ek-strakt; noun ek-strakt ]

/ verb ɪkˈstrækt or, especially for 5, ˈɛk strækt; noun ˈɛk strækt /

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See synonyms for: extract / extracted / extracting / extracts on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)

to get, pull, or draw out, usually with special effort, skill, or force: to extract a tooth.

to deduce (a doctrine, principle, interpretation, etc.): He extracted a completely personal meaning from what was said.

to derive or obtain (pleasure, comfort, etc.) from a particular source: He extracted satisfaction from the success of his sons.

to take or copy out (matter), as from a book.

to make excerpts from (a book, pamphlet, etc.).

to extort (information, money, etc.): to extract a secret from someone.

to separate or obtain (a juice, ingredient, etc.) from a mixture by pressure, distillation, treatment with solvents, or the like.

Mathematics.

to determine (the root of a quantity that has a single root).
to determine (a root of a quantity that has multiple roots).

noun

something extracted.

a passage taken from a book, article, etc.; excerpt; quotation.

a solution or preparation containing the active principles of a drug, plant juice, or the like; concentrated solution: vanilla extract.

a solid, viscid, or liquid substance extracted from a plant, drug, or the like, containing its essence in concentrated form: beef extract.

OTHER WORDS FOR extract

1 pry out.

6 evoke, educe, draw out, elicit.

7 withdraw, distill.

10 citation, selection.

11 decoction, distillation.

See synonyms for extract on Thesaurus.com

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Origin of extract

First recorded in 1475–1500; from Latin extractus (past participle of extrahere ). See ex-¹, tract¹

synonym study for extract

6. 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 WORDS FROM extract

ex·tract·a·ble, ex·tract·i·ble, adjectiveex·tract·a·bil·i·ty, ex·tract·i·bil·i·ty, nounnon·ex·tract·a·ble, adjectivenon·ex·tract·ed, adjective

non·ex·tract·i·ble, adjectiveo·ver·ex·tract, verb (used with object)pre·ex·tract, verb (used with object)un·ex·tract·a·ble, adjectiveun·ex·tract·ed, adjective

Words nearby extract

extracode, extra-condensed, extraconstitutional, extracorporeal, extra cover, extract, extractant, extraction, extractions, extractive, extractive metallurgy

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use extract in a sentence

Mycologist Paul Stamets, for one, has shown that a mycelium extract can decompose petroleum waste and sprout oyster mushrooms in its place.
Imitation Is the Sincerest Form of Environmentalism - Issue 90: Something Green|Anastasia Bendebury & Michael Shilo DeLay|October 7, 2020|Nautilus
He and his team had shown that extracts of certain fungi could be used to reduce bee mortality dramatically.
The Fungal Evangelist Who Would Save the Bees - Issue 90: Something Green|Merlin Sheldrake|September 23, 2020|Nautilus
He had been producing these extracts for human consumption for several years—it is largely these products that have made Fungi Perfecti into a multimillion-dollar business.
The Fungal Evangelist Who Would Save the Bees - Issue 90: Something Green|Merlin Sheldrake|September 23, 2020|Nautilus
The jar dribbled sugar water laced with fungal extracts into the dish, and bees crawled through a chute to get to it.
The Fungal Evangelist Who Would Save the Bees - Issue 90: Something Green|Merlin Sheldrake|September 23, 2020|Nautilus

The health benefits to me are real—anti-anxiety, anti-inflammation, et cetera—but it is up to each person to determine how hemp extract and CBD can benefit them.
OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder on launching a hemp-infused sparkling water brand|Rachel King|August 24, 2020|Fortune
Humanitarian organizations had already pulled out, and French troops rushed in to extract the 15 foreigners left in the city.
‘Argo’ in the Congo: The Ghosts of the Stanleyville Hostage Crisis|Nina Strochlic|November 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The scientists were able to extract sufficient DNA from the roots, and they did indeed find the virus fossils.
Ebola's Roots Are 50 Times Older Than Mankind. And That Could Be the Key to Stopping It.|Michael Daly|October 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The procedure they undergo to extract eggs is intense and invasive and there are no sexual kicks involved.
Today’s Sperm Donor Isn’t a Broke 20-Something|Stephanie Fairyington|September 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Sophia pays the $20,000 or more necessary to extract and freeze a large number of her eggs.
‘Designer’ Babies Are Only for the Rich|Jean Twenge|July 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
So the advantages of being able to extract and store the most energy out of the minimum of calories far outweighed any risks.
How Famines Make Future Generations Fat|Carrie Arnold|May 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It may be applied directly to a suspected fluid, or, better, to the ethereal extract.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
The following extract from the "Australasian" entitled, "Tobacco Smoking" refers to many literary smokers.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.
As to the concluding line of the extract, I must leave it to some better Irish scholar than I can boast myself.
Notes and Queries, Number 196, July 30, 1853|Various
This Extract will make a convenient statistic reference for matters concerning Liberia.
The Condition, Elevation, Emigration, and Destiny of the Colored People of the United States|Martin R. Delany
See the whole extract from Boccaccio, given and translated in the Introduction; see p. 68, above.
Chaucer's Works, Volume 1 (of 7) -- Romaunt of the Rose; Minor Poems|Geoffrey Chaucer

British Dictionary definitions for extract

extract

verb (ɪkˈstrækt) (tr)

to withdraw, pull out, or uproot by force

to remove or separate

to derive (pleasure, information, etc) from some source or situation

to deduce or develop (a doctrine, policy, etc)

informal to extort (money, etc)

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

to cut out or copy out (an article, passage, quotation, etc) from a publication

to determine the value of (the root of a number)

noun (ˈɛkstrækt)

something extracted, such as a part or passage from a book, speech, etc

a preparation containing the active principle or concentrated essence of a materialbeef extract; yeast extract

pharmacol a solution of plant or animal tissue containing the active principle

Derived forms of extract

extractable, adjectiveextractability, noun

Word Origin for extract

C15: from Latin extractus drawn forth, from extrahere, from trahere to drag

usage for extract

Extract is sometimes wrongly used where extricate would be better: he will find it difficult extricating (not extracting) himself from this situation

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

extract

OTHER WORDS FOR extract

Origin of extract

synonym study for extract

OTHER WORDS FROM extract

Words nearby extract

Words related to extract

How to use extract in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for extract

Derived forms of extract

Word Origin for extract

usage for extract