traction

American  

[trak-shuhn] / ˈtræk ʃən /

noun

• tractions
  plural

1. the adhesive friction of a body on some surface, as a wheel on a rail or a tire on a road.

2. the action of drawing a body, vehicle, train, or the like, along a surface, as a road, track, railroad, or waterway.

3. Medicine/Medical. the deliberate and prolonged pulling of a muscle, organ, or the like, as by weights, to correct dislocation, relieve pressure, etc.

4. transportation by means of railroads.

5. the act of drawing or pulling.

6. the state of being drawn.

7. the support or momentum needed to advance something or make it successful.

   Her proposal failed to gain traction among our board members.

8. attracting power or influence; attraction.

   The main character feels the traction of fate.

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traction British  

/ ˈtræktɪv, ˈtrækʃən /

noun

1. the act of drawing or pulling, esp by motive power

2. the state of being drawn or pulled

3. med the application of a steady pull on a part during healing of a fractured or dislocated bone, using a system of weights and pulleys or splints

4. the adhesive friction between a wheel and a surface, as between a driving wheel of a motor vehicle and the road

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traction Scientific  

/ trăk′shən /

1. Static friction, as of a wheel on a track or a tire on a road.

2. See more at friction

3. A sustained pulling force applied mechanically to a part of the body by means of a weighted apparatus in order to correct the position of fractured or dislocated bones, especially of the arm, leg, or neck.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nontraction
  noun
• tractional
  adjective
• tractive
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• tractions
  plural

Etymology

Origin of traction

First recorded in 1605–15; from Medieval Latin tractiōn- (stem of tractiō ) “act of drawing,” equivalent to tract(us) (past participle of trahere “to draw, drag, pull”) + -iōn-; see -ion

Explanation

In medicine, traction is the act of pulling on bones or limbs in a certain way to help with healing. An arm in traction is temporarily tied up, but it is probably on the mend. A person in traction is presently immobile, but traction can also be used to describe the state of an object being pulled, or the friction between that object and the surface it is pulled across. Traction can also refer to something or someone that has picked up movement, like an idea or a candidate. If your idea for chocolate covered onions has gained traction, it is becoming popular; if it has lost traction, people have come to their senses.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

traction tractions

One possible explanation may trace back to an algorithm overhaul Instagram completed just a year ago, around the time Japan’s energy-generating footsteps started gaining more virtual traction.

From Slate ● Aug. 28, 2026

The game started to gain real traction in the early 2000s, when Rockstar took over its development.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026

A turnaround of the Buildings and Coated Products North America business is also gaining traction, it says.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

IonQ, Quantinuum, and other notable names in the quantum sector have reported earnings, which broadly showed that traction continues to grow.

From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026

Not ten doctors in all of Nebraska would know to use traction.

From "Worth" by A. LaFaye

When he died in 1915 he left a fortune of over $30,000,000 largely made out of banking, sugar, rubber, public utilities, tractions.

From Time Magazine Archive

She often worked in the front seat of theii Chevrolet, parked away from the dis tractions of home.

From Time Magazine Archive

In addition to Patagonia products, the store will stock DaKine tractions pads and leashes, Ocean Minded sandals, Nixon watches, Smith sunglasses, and a large selection of surfboard fins.

From Time Magazine Archive

The resultant of these tangential tractions must be a force equal to W, and directed vertically; 150 but the direction of the traction at a point of the cross-section need not in general be vertical.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 2 "Ehud" to "Electroscope" by Various

The stress within the bar is shearing stress, consisting, as it must, of two sets of equal tangential tractions on two sets of planes which are at right angles to each other.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 2 "Ehud" to "Electroscope" by Various

Related Words

• suction