extract
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
v.to remove something by pulling it out, often with effort or force.
v.to remove something forcibly from a fixed position or context. Transitive; requires a direct object.
Simple“The dentist had to extract the tooth because it was badly damaged.”
In context“Engineers worked for three days to extract the heavy machinery from the mud after the construction site flooded during the storm.”
- 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
v.to get information, money, or a specific substance from something else.
v.to derive or obtain something from a source through a specific process, such as distillation, calculation, or questioning.
Simple“The police tried to extract a confession from the suspect during the interview.”
In context“The research team developed a more efficient method to extract oil from shale rock without using excessive amounts of water.”
- 03 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.a small part of a longer book, speech, or piece of music.
n.a short passage taken from a text, film, or musical work, typically used for analysis or citation.
Simple“We had to read a short extract from the novel for our literature class.”
In context“The professor provided an extract from the 1924 treaty to illustrate how diplomatic language has evolved over the last century.”
- 04 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.a strong substance that has been taken from a plant or food.
n.a preparation containing the active ingredient or essence of a substance in concentrated form.
Simple“Add two drops of vanilla extract to the cake batter for better flavour.”
In context“The pharmaceutical company uses a highly purified extract of the bark to produce the new anti-inflammatory medication.”
Synonyms
Usage extract from our daily · extracting oil · extract information
“This is an extract from our daily football email … Football Daily.”
“This is an extract from our free email about women’s football, Moving the Goalposts.”
Borrowed from Latin extractum, neuter perfect passive participle of extrahō, from ex- (“out of”) + trahō (“to drag”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.