tractor

American  

[trak-ter] / ˈtræk tər /

noun

1. a powerful motor-driven vehicle with large, heavy treads, used for pulling farm machinery, other vehicles, etc.

2. Also called truck tractor.  a short truck with a driver's cab but no body, designed for hauling a trailer or semitrailer.

3. something used for drawing or pulling.

4. Aeronautics.

   1. a propeller mounted at the front of an airplane, thus exerting a pull.

   2. Also called tractor airplane.  an airplane with a propeller so mounted.

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tractor British  

/ ˈtræktə /

noun

1. a motor vehicle used to pull heavy loads, esp farm machinery such as a plough or harvester. It usually has two large rear wheels with deeply treaded tyres

2. a short motor vehicle with a powerful engine and a driver's cab, used to pull a trailer, as in an articulated lorry

3. an aircraft with its propeller or propellers mounted in front of the engine

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Etymology

Origin of tractor

1855–60; < Latin trac-, variant stem of trahere to draw, pull + -tor -tor

Explanation

A tractor is a vehicle that's used on a farm or work site, often to pull a trailer or other equipment. A farmer might use a tractor to pull a plow through her corn field before planting. Tractors typically have two large wheels in back, and smaller wheels in front. The cab of a tractor, where the driver sits, is sometimes open at the sides. When tractors were first used in farm work, they replaced horses and other large animals once commonly used to pull plows and move heavy equipment. The original meaning of tractor was "something that pulls," while in Modern Latin it means "that which draws," from trahere, "to pull or draw."

Example Sentences

Back then the farm he lived on had more than a dozen dairy cows, plus sheep, pigs and plow horses, since his family didn’t have a tractor.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 12, 2026

Far from the war torn Gulf of Oman, Tom Collins drives his favourite blue tractor through his farmyard, near Malmesbury in Wiltshire.

From BBC • Mar. 23, 2026

In October 2024 in Ventura County, the Balcom fire was started by a tractor running on a hot day.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 19, 2026

Instead of buying new equipment and hiring help, he uses an aging tractor and combine.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 15, 2026

With the tractor cart I could move the whole thing in a matter of minutes.

From "Z for Zachariah" by Robert C. O’Brien