tract

¹ American  

[trakt] / trækt /

noun

1. an expanse or area of land, water, etc.; region; stretch.

   Synonyms:

   territory, district

2. Anatomy.

   1. a definite region or area of the body, especially a group, series, or system of related parts or organs.

      the digestive tract.

   2. a bundle of nerve fibers having a common origin and destination.

3. a stretch or period of time; interval; lapse.

4. Roman Catholic Church. an anthem consisting of verses of Scripture, sung after the gradual in the Mass from Septuagesima until the day before Easter and on certain other occasions, taking the place of the alleluias and the verse that ordinarily accompany the gradual.

5. Ornithology. a pteryla.

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tract ² American  

[trakt] / trækt /

noun

1. a brief treatise or pamphlet for general distribution, usually on a religious or political topic.

   Synonyms:

   disquisition, homily, essay

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tract ¹ British  

/ trækt /

noun

1. RC Church an anthem in some Masses

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tract ² British  

/ trækt /

noun

1. an extended area, as of land

2. anatomy a system of organs, glands, or other tissues that has a particular function

   the digestive tract

3. a bundle of nerve fibres having the same function, origin, and termination

   the optic tract

4. archaic an extended period of time

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tract ³ British  

/ trækt /

noun

1. a treatise or pamphlet, esp a religious or moralistic one

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tract Scientific  

/ trăkt /

1. A series of body organs that work together to perform a specialized function, such as digestion.

2. A bundle of nerve fibers, especially in the central nervous system, that begin and end in the same place and share a common function.

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Etymology

Origin of tract¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; (in senses referring to extent of space) from Latin tractus “stretch (of space or time), a drawing out,” equivalent to trac-, variant stem of trahere “to draw” + -tus suffix of verbal action; tract ¹ def. 4 is from Medieval Latin tractus, apparently identical with the above, though literal sense unexplained

Origin of tract²

1400–50; late Middle English tracte, apparently shortening of Medieval Latin tractātus tractate

Explanation

A tract is a large, open piece of land — like that tract of farmland you bought when you decided your dream in life was to raise llamas. Tract is also a word for a short pamphlet or booklet, like that tract you recently read entitled "The Care and Feeding of Llamas." In addition to referring to areas of land and small booklets, the word tract can describe complicated systems or structures in the body. If you were to unwind your intestine, an important part of your digestive tract, it would not stretch across a large tract of land, but only 25-28 feet — but that's still pretty long! (You probably don't need to read a tract on human anatomy to realize this would be an unhealthy experiment.)

Example Sentences

Ornelas, who rents a house in the Boggs Tract neighborhood, says she has to wear a mask just to work outside, or to clean the soot off her car every few days.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 1, 2024

Jamie Rumbelow, whose company Tract build tools to navigate the planning system, said the Lib Dems had shown a “lack of interest” in the specifics of how to build new homes.

From BBC • Sep. 17, 2024

These last known ivory-billed woodpeckers were from the Singer Tract, in Louisiana, a relatively untouched swamp spanning about 80,000 acres.

From Slate • May 27, 2023

Every project larger than three acres in D.C. is supposed to go through a Large Tract Review process.

From Washington Post • Feb. 20, 2023

Tract 13 sold for more than $600,000, to Sinclair.

From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann

Related Words

• estate
• expanse
• parcel
• plot
• portion
• section