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.
"A complex extrication with our technical rescue team" was needed, "including a search and rescue of the pilot and co-pilot that were trapped in this aircraft."
From Barron's ● Sep. 6, 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
NHRA’s traveling safety team, like its counterparts, is comprised of firefighters, paramedics and EMTs who are trained in motorsports injuries, evacuation and extrication.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 16, 2023
In the misery of awakening to a consciousness of existing facts, Leonard could see no possibility of extrication from the bog of degradation into which he had fallen.
From Mr. Claghorn's Daughter by Hilary Trent
Definitions 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.
