extrication
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of extrication
First recorded in 1610–20; equivalent to Latin extrīcāre ( see extricate ( def. )) + -ion ( def. )
Explanation
Extrication is when you set someone or something free. If your dog gets tangled in your neighbor's hammock, she might require some extrication. The act of getting someone out of a physically tangled or otherwise complicated situation is extrication. When you unwind the yarn your cat is twisted in, that's extrication. And when you get your friend out of a complicated legal situation, that's also extrication. When you get yourself out of a difficult or awkward circumstance, that's also extrication. The Latin root is extricare, from ex, "out," and tricae, "perplexities or hindrances."
Vocabulary lists containing extrication
David Copperfield
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"Introduction to Homeland Security," Vocabulary from Chapter 9
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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.
The agency said rescuers were "carrying out the evacuation process for the trapped victims using extrication equipment to free them from the wrecked train structures".
From Barron's ● Apr. 27, 2026
Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service said: "The extrication was especially challenging with fuel lines running throughout the aircraft's chassis and aviation fuel stored in its wings."
From BBC ● Dec. 29, 2025
The extrication of the federal workforce from routine economic activity means comparisons, even after data reporting returns, will be askew until normalization sets back in.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 11, 2025
A paramedic and extrication equipment were deployed to the car using a 200-foot line, the sheriff’s office said.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2023
When once involved in the whirl of fashion, extrication is difficult and painful—the descent is wonderfully easy—sed revocare gradum!
From Dealings with the Dead, Volume I (of 2) by A Sexton of the Old School
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
