extract

verb

ex·tract | \ ik-ˈstrakt

, usually in sense 5 ˈek-ˌstrakt\

extracted; extracting; extracts

Definition of extract

(Entry 1 of 2)

transitive verb

1a : to draw forth (as by research) extract data

b : to pull or take out forcibly extracted a wisdom tooth

c : to obtain by much effort from someone unwilling extracted a confession

2a : to withdraw (something, such as a juice or a constituent element) by physical or chemical process

b : to treat with a solvent so as to remove a soluble substance

3 : to separate (a metal) from an ore

4 : to determine (a mathematical root) by calculation

5 : to select (excerpts) and copy out or cite

extract

noun

ex·tract | \ ˈek-ˌstrakt

Definition of extract (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : a selection from a writing or discourse : excerpt

2 : a product (such as an essence or concentrate) prepared by extracting especially : a solution (as in alcohol) of essential constituents of a complex material (such as meat or an aromatic plant)

Other Words from extract Synonyms Choose the Right Synonym Do you exact or extract revenge? The Crisscrossing Histories of Abstract and Extract More Example Sentences Learn More about extract

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Other Words from extract

Verb

extractability \ ik-ˌstrak-tə-ˈbi-lə-tē

, (ˌ)ek- \ noun

extractable \ ik-ˈstrak-tə-bəl

, ˈek-ˌstrak- \ adjective

Choose the Right Synonym for extract

Verb

educe, evoke, elicit, extract, extort mean to draw out something hidden, latent, or reserved. educe implies the bringing out of something potential or latent. educed order out of chaos evoke implies a strong stimulus that arouses an emotion or an interest or recalls an image or memory. a song that evokes warm memories elicit usually implies some effort or skill in drawing forth a response. careful questioning elicited the truth extract implies the use of force or pressure in obtaining answers or information. extracted a confession from him extort suggests a wringing or wresting from one who resists strongly. extorted their cooperation by threatening to inform

Do you exact or extract revenge?

The verb exact (as in, "exacting revenge" or "exacting a promise") is not as commonly encountered as the adjective exact, (as in "an exact copy" or "exact measurements"). Sometimes people will mistakenly use the more common verb extract when they really want exact. Extract can refer to removing something by pulling or cutting or to getting information from someone who does not want to give it. While both words refer to getting something they are used in different ways. You extract a tooth, but you exact revenge.

The Crisscrossing Histories of Abstract and Extract

Verb

Abstract is most frequently used as an adjective (“abstract ideas”) and a noun (“an abstract of the article”), but its somewhat less common use as a verb in English helps to clarify its Latin roots. The verb abstract is used to mean “summarize,” as in “abstracting an academic paper.” This meaning is a figurative derivative of the verb’s meanings “to remove” or “to separate.”

We trace the origins of abstract to the combination of the Latin roots ab-, a prefix meaning “from” or “away,” with the verb trahere, meaning “to pull” or “to draw.” The result was the Latin verb abstrahere, which meant “to remove forcibly” or “to drag away.” Its past participle abstractus had the meanings “removed,” “secluded,” “incorporeal,” and, ultimately, “summarized,” meanings which came to English from Medieval Latin.

Interestingly, the word passed from Latin into French with competing spellings as both abstract (closer to the Latin) and abstrait (which reflected the French form of abstrahere, abstraire), the spelling retained in modern French.

The idea of “removing” or “pulling away” connects abstract to extract, which stems from Latin through the combination of trahere with the prefix ex-, meaning “out of” or “away from.” Extract forms a kind of mirror image of abstract: more common as a verb, but also used as a noun and adjective. The adjective, meaning “derived or descended,” is now obsolete, as is a sense of the noun that overlapped with abstract, “summary.” The words intersected and have separated in modern English, but it’s easy to see that abstract applies to something that has been summarized, and summarized means “extracted from a larger work.”

Examples of extract in a Sentence

Verb

He extracted a credit card from his wallet. I had to have a tooth extracted. The tumor was surgically extracted. We finally extracted a confession from him. Investigators were able to extract useful information from the company's financial records. They are hoping to extract new insights from the test results. The machines extract the juice from the apples. oil extracted from sunflower seeds venom extracted from poisonous snakes

Noun

The recipe calls for a tablespoon of vanilla extract. the anthology includes a long extract from the epic poem

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

British farmers can only grow hemp building materials but can’t profit from the oil extracted from seeds. — Kevin Orland, BostonGlobe.com, "Builders are swapping cement for hemp to reduce pollution," 30 Aug. 2019 Avantea said that only seven of 10 eggs extracted last week from the females in Kenya were suitable for use in the artificial insemination process Sunday. — Andrea Foa, Los Angeles Times, "There are no male northern white rhinos left. Can IVF save the species?," 27 Aug. 2019 Avantea said that only seven of 10 eggs extracted last week from the females in Kenya could be used in the fertilization attempts Sunday using frozen sperm that had been taken from the male, which died in March 2018. — Time, "Scientists Fertilized 7 Northern White Rhino Eggs With Sperm From the Now-Dead Last Male," 26 Aug. 2019 But the study reveals that a rapidly growing amount of methane in the atmosphere is made from the carbon-13 atom, a type of carbon found in natural gas extracted from shale formations. — Sergio Chapa, Houston Chronicle, "Study: Fracking responsible for rising methane levels in atmosphere," 14 Aug. 2019 And compounds extracted from brown algae have been shown to inhibit tyrosinase in animal studies. — Sarah Jacoby, SELF, "Can Spirulina and Other Algae Skin-Care Products Live Up to the Hype?," 13 Aug. 2019 For more info: DERIVATIVES: CBD: On a real market high | Watch Video Cannabidiol, a chemical compound extracted from hemp, is now at the center of a swiftly-growing industry which last year derived about $600 million in U.S. sales. — CBS News, "This week on "Sunday Morning" (July 28): The Money Issue," 25 July 2019 Then again, a Bleacher Report story, using data extracted from NBA.com, revealed that Brooklyn played a pace almost identical to the Warriors. — Gary Peterson, The Mercury News, "Was Kevin Durant joining the Nets more a matter of him ditching the Warriors?," 17 July 2019 Beginning in 2014, Baird sent samples of DNA extracted from skull fragments and teeth from more than a dozen burials to DNA labs in Sweden, Turkey, the U.K., and Germany. — Andrew Curry, National Geographic, "The first Europeans weren’t who you might think," 12 July 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Burt’s Bees Burt’s Bees Sensitive Facial Cleanser is made with cotton extract and aloe, which helps soothe and moisturize the skin. — Los Angeles Times, "Rosacea treatments: 10 creams, lotions and salves that promise to save your skin," 28 Aug. 2019 The secret is to add layers of flavor: caramelized bananas, nuts, extracts and liqueurs that complement the rich, dense finished blondie. — Dallas News, "5 easy recipes for blondies that include lots of browned butter, nuts and liqueurs," 27 Aug. 2019 Ghost is infused with Bhut Jolokia extract, which gives if a fair bit of heat, without being overwhelming. —

extract

Definition of extract

Other Words from extract

Synonyms for extract

Choose the Right Synonym for extract

Do you exact or extract revenge?

The Crisscrossing Histories of Abstract and Extract

Examples of extract in a Sentence

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