extract

American  

[ik-strakt, ek-strakt, ek-strakt] / ɪkˈstrækt, ˈɛk strækt, ˈɛk strækt /

verb (used with object)

extracts, present (3rd person singular) extracted, past participle, past extracting present participle

1. to get, pull, or draw out, usually with special effort, skill, or force.

   to extract a tooth.

2. to deduce (a doctrine, principle, interpretation, etc.).

   He extracted a completely personal meaning from what was said.

3. to derive or obtain (pleasure, comfort, etc.) from a particular source.

   He extracted satisfaction from the success of his sons.

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

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

6. to extort (information, money, etc.).

   to extract a secret from someone.

   Synonyms:

   elicit, educe, evoke

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

   Synonyms:

   distill, withdraw

8. Mathematics.

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

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

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noun

extracts plural

1. something extracted.

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

   Synonyms:

   selection, citation

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

   vanilla extract.

   Synonyms:

   distillation, decoction

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

   beef extract.

extract British  

verb

1. to withdraw, pull out, or uproot by force

2. to remove or separate

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

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

5. informal to extort (money, etc)

6. 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

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

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

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noun

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

2. a preparation containing the active principle or concentrated essence of a material

   beef extract

   yeast extract

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

Usage

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

Synonym Usage

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 Word Forms

Derived Forms

• extractability
  noun
• extractibility
  noun
• extractable
  adjective
• extractible
  adjective
• nonextractable
  adjective
• nonextracted
  adjective
• nonextractible
  adjective
• unextractable
  adjective
• unextracted
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• extracts
  plural

Participles

• extracting
  present
• extracted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• extract
  simple
• extracts
  simple
• have extracted
  perfect
• has extracted
  perfect
• am extracting
  progressive
• are extracting
  progressive
• is extracting
  progressive
• have been extracting
  perfect progressive
• has been extracting
  perfect progressive

Past

• extracted
  simple
• had extracted
  perfect
• was extracting
  progressive
• were extracting
  progressive
• had been extracting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will extract
  simple
• will have extracted
  perfect
• will be extracting
  progressive
• will have been extracting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of extract

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

Explanation

When you extract something, you remove it from a larger whole. You can extract a passage from a book, or a liquid essence from a vanilla bean—vanilla extract. Ex- means out of, and when you extract, you draw something out of something else. When listening to a complicated and long-winded story, it can be difficult to extract the truly meaningful details.

Example Sentences

Also on Monday, a 21-year-old identified as Aaron Levi was rescued in the nearby town of Tanaguarena, according to a video released by a photographer who witnessed the complex operation to extract him.

From Barron's • Jun. 29, 2026

One company planning to extract helium-3 from the moon is Interlune, based in Seattle.

From BBC • Jun. 16, 2026

"In our tests with ambient air, we were able to extract 97 milligrams of CO2 with one gram of material," explains Zhou Dong, a postdoctoral researcher in Mezzenga's group and lead author of the study.

From Science Daily • Jun. 11, 2026

China jolted the world with its willingness to use its extensive control of the rare-earth supply chain to extract concessions from the U.S. and punish countries such as Japan.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 7, 2026

Nevertheless, a combination of tried-and-tested reporting techniques enabled me to extract enough nuggets of hard fact to string together the whole scandalous story.

From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling

Related Words

• cull
• derive
• distill
• elicit
• exact
• extort
• extricate
• glean
• obtain
• pluck
• pry
• pull
• reap
• separate
• siphon
• squeeze
• withdraw
• wrest
• wring