Extract Meaning
/ˈɛkstɹækt/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounSomething that is extracted or drawn out.
nounA portion of a book, document, recording etc. incorporated distinctly in another work (for written or spoken words, synoymous to a citation; a quotation).
Sentence Examples
Extract an essence from the bark of a tree.
It's the reader that determines whether they extract pleasure from reading.
The following extract is taken from her new novel.
CEFR Practice Quiz
Dentists must carefully ____ the wisdom tooth without damaging nerves.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The dentist had to ____ the wisdom tooth because it was causing severe pain and infection.
Word Origin & History
Borrowed from Latin extractum, neuter perfect passive participle of extrahō, from ex- (“out of”) + trahō (“to drag”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"The bee / Sits on the bloom extracting liquid sweet."
— 1667, John Milton, “Book V”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
"The dawn of the oil age was fairly recent. Although the stuff was used to waterproof boats in the Middle East 6,000 years ago, extracting it in earnest began only in 1859 after an oil strike in Pennsylvania. The first barrels of crude fetched $18 (around $450 at today’s prices)."
— 2013 August 3, “Yesterday’s fuel”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8847:
"There is, in fact, growing recognition in the Department that giving free rein to the open access operators will extract revenue from Great British Railways."
— 2025 March 5, Christian Wolmar, “GBR: just how clear are the government's objectives?”, in RAIL, number 1030, page 41:
"Mostly, the microbiome is beneficial. It helps with digestion and enables people to extract a lot more calories from their food than would otherwise be possible. Research over the past few years, however, has implicated it in diseases from atherosclerosis to asthma to autism."
— 2013 June 29, “A punch in the gut”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8842, pages 72–3:
"I have thought it proper to extract out of that pamphlet a few of those notorious falsehoods."
— 1724, Jonathan Swift, “Drapier's Letters”, in 4:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
Dentists must carefully ____ the wisdom tooth without damaging nerves.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The dentist had to ____ the wisdom tooth because it was causing severe pain and infection.