protractor
[ proh-trak-ter, pruh- ]
/ proʊˈtræk tər, prə- /
|
noun
a person or thing that protracts.
(in surveying, mathematics, etc.) an instrument having a graduated arc for plotting or measuring angles.
Anatomy. a muscle that causes a part to protrude.
Nearby words
- protozoophage,
- protract,
- protracted,
- protractile,
- protraction,
- protriptyline,
- protrude,
- protruded disk,
- protrusile,
- protrusion
Origin of protractor
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for protractor
protractor
/ (prəˈtræktə) /
noun
an instrument for measuring or drawing angles on paper, usually a flat semicircular transparent plastic sheet graduated in degrees
a person or thing that protracts
a surgical instrument for removing a bullet from the body
anatomy a former term for extensor
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
protractor
1610s, "one who lengthens (an action)," from Medieval Latin protractor, agent noun from Latin protrahere "to draw forward" (see protraction); sense of "instrument for drawing angles" first recorded 1650s.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
protractor
[ prō-trăk′tər ]
n.
A muscle that extends a limb or other part.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.