were extracting
- past progressive of extract.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
At the time, geneticists were extracting DNA from the bones of the extinct animals and pinpointing genetic differences between them and their living elephant cousins.
From New York Times ● Mar. 6, 2024
Multiple rescue teams and residents were extracting injured passengers from the wreckage.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 29, 2023
"It was mystical that we were extracting Dracula's molecules on the day that Bram Stoker's novel was published 125 years ago," he said.
From Salon ● Aug. 24, 2023
Brazil's National Mining Agency estimated that year that wildcat gold miners were extracting some 30 tonnes of gold annually from the Tapajós watershed alone, using the toxic heavy metal mercury to separate gold from sediment.
From Reuters ● Aug. 20, 2021
Mesopotamians were extracting tons of petroleum by heating rock asphalt.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
