What does "extract" mean?
Something that is extracted or drawn out.
Extract
/ˈɛkstɹækt/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Something that is extracted or drawn out.
- Grammar: extract is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: excerpt, abate, abrade, abridge.
- Useful contrasts: careless shove, embedded, embedded receiver.
- Usage evidence: Extract an essence from the bark of a tree.
How to use "extract"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "extract" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "extract" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "extract" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "extract" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "extract" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "excerpt" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "extract", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Something that is extracted or drawn out.
- 2 a passage selected from a larger work wordnet
- 3 A portion of a book, document, recording etc. incorporated distinctly in another work (for written or spoken words, synoymous to a citation; a quotation).
"I used an extract of Hemingway's book to demonstrate culture shock."
- 4 a solution obtained by steeping or soaking a substance (usually in water) wordnet
- 5 A decoction, solution, or infusion made by drawing out from any substance that which gives it its essential and characteristic virtue
"vanilla extract"
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 Any substance extracted is such a way, and characteristic of that from which it is obtained
"quinine is the most important extract of Peruvian bark."
- 7 A solid preparation obtained by evaporating a solution of a drug, etc., or the fresh juice of a plant (distinguished from an abstract).
- 8 A peculiar principle (fundamental essence) once erroneously supposed to form the basis of all vegetable extracts. obsolete
- 9 Ancestry; descent.
- 10 A draft or copy of writing; a certified copy of the proceedings in an action and the judgment therein, with an order for execution.
Verb
- 1 To draw out; to pull out; to remove forcibly from a fixed position, as by traction or suction, etc. transitive
"to extract a tooth from its socket, a stump from the earth, or a splinter from the finger"
- 2 extract by the process of distillation wordnet
- 3 To withdraw by squeezing, distillation, or other mechanical or chemical process. Compare abstract (transitive verb). transitive
"to extract an essential oil from a plant"
- 4 calculate the root of a number wordnet
- 5 To pick out; to cite or reproduce a snippet of transitive
"extract a passage from a text."
Show 8 more definitions
- 6 take out of a literary work in order to cite or copy wordnet
- 7 To select parts of a whole transitive
"We need to try to extract the positives from the defeat."
- 8 remove, usually with some force or effort; also used in an abstract sense wordnet
- 9 To determine (a root of a number). transitive
"Please extract the cube root of 27."
- 10 obtain from a substance, as by mechanical action wordnet
- 11 separate (a metal) from an ore wordnet
- 12 deduce (a principle) or construe (a meaning) wordnet
- 13 get despite difficulties or obstacles wordnet
Example
"Extract an essence from the bark of a tree."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "extract"?
Common synonyms include: excerpt, abate, abrade, abridge, abstract, abstract adjective.
How do you use "extract" in a sentence?
Extract an essence from the bark of a tree.
How do you pronounce "extract"?
Pronounced /ˈɛkstɹækt/.
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin extractum, neuter perfect passive participle of extrahō, from ex- (“out of”) + trahō (“to drag”).