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  

/ 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

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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

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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

Lacking fingers with flexible joints, the robot’s grippers had difficulty getting traction on the smooth surface of the glass.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026

The new fleet of VinFast SUVs brought to Los Angeles by Green SM could help the Vietnam-based automaker gain traction in California.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026

As Anthropic leapt ahead in the AI race and its models gained traction with businesses, the company’s computing capacity wasn’t able to keep up and customers faced usage limits and outages.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

"We analyse that something is physically strong enough, it's well built enough to survive this environment, it's going to have the traction to drive in this environment," he explained.

From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026

The volunteer fire department was called out by a neighbor, but the pumper truck driver, Edgar Paulsen, lost traction on Indian Knob Hill and had to halt to put on tire chains.

From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson

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

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

Oblique tractions can always be resolved, by the vector law, into normal and tangential tractions.

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

For example, a cubical block may be subjected to opposing tractions on opposite faces acting in directions which are parallel to an edge of the cube and to both the faces.

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

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