English Reference

Word

tractor

Phoneticstrac·tor

US/ˈtɹæktɝ/

UK/tɹˈæktɐ/

Definitions

01farm vehicle

A2

n. a strong vehicle with large back wheels used on farms to pull heavy machines.

n. a heavy-duty motor vehicle with large, high-traction rubber tyres, designed to pull agricultural machinery or trailers.

“The farmer used his tractor to pull the plough across the muddy field.”

“Modern tractors are often equipped with GPS technology to ensure that seeds are planted with centimetre-level precision across vast acreages.”

Synonyms

farm vehicle

02truck unit

B2

n. the front part of a large truck that contains the engine and pulls a trailer.

n. the powered unit of a semi-trailer truck, containing the engine, cab, and fifth-wheel coupling for towing a trailer.

“The driver unhooked the tractor from the trailer and parked it for the night.”

“The logistics company invested in a fleet of electric tractors to handle short-haul deliveries between the port and the regional distribution centre.”

American English

Synonyms

03aviation/propeller

C2 · Science

n. an airplane where the propeller is at the front and pulls the plane forward.

n. an aircraft configuration in which the propeller is mounted in front of the engine or fuselage so that the aircraft is 'pulled' through the air.

“Most small private planes use a tractor design with the engine in the nose.”

“The transition from pusher to tractor configurations in early aviation significantly improved cooling efficiency for the rotary engines of that era.”

Technical

Antonyms

04to use a tractor

B2

v. to work on land or move things using a tractor.

v. to cultivate land or transport loads specifically through the use of a tractor.

“They spent the whole weekend tractoring the north field to get it ready for planting.”

“After the heavy rains subsided, the crew began tractoring the saturated soil to prevent the formation of a hard crust that would stifle new growth.”

Synonyms

Etymology

Formed from Latin tractus, perfect passive participle of trahere (“to pull”), + agent noun suffix -or.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Word family

tractionNountractorNoun

Domains

AgricultureAviationMedicine

This entry

Level
A2 · Elementary
Frequency
Frequent
Updated

Scan code

englishreference.com/q/tractor

English Reference