extract

The word “extract” means to pull or draw something out, often with effort or force. In plain terms, to pull something out (a tooth, information, a quote), or a concentrated substance/passage taken from something bigger.

“Extract” is pronounced EHKST-rakt (/ˈɛkstɹækt/ in IPA).

Here is “extract” used in a sentence: “The dentist had to extract two of her wisdom teeth.”

Depending on how it is used, “extract” can be a verb and a noun.

The word “extract” comes from Latin. From Latin extrahere, "to drag out" — from ex- ("out") + trahere ("to drag"), the same root behind "traction" and "tractor.".

“Extract” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the B2 level.

“Extract” has 3 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: to pull or draw something out, often with effort or force.

Both words name a short passage taken from a longer piece of writing, speech, or recording, and in that sense they are largely interchangeable. Extract also has other meanings — a concentrated substance, or the verb meaning to pull something out — while excerpt is limited to quoted passages.

The noun is stressed on the first syllable — EX-tract — as in "an extract from the novel." The verb is stressed on the second syllable — ex-TRACT — as in "to extract a tooth." This stress shift follows the same noun–verb pattern as record, permit, and present.

To extract something is to pull or draw it out from inside something else, often with effort, force, or care, as in extracting a tooth or extracting information. Remove is more general and simply means to take something away, with no suggestion that it was embedded or hard to get out.

Vanilla extract is a concentrated substance obtained by drawing the flavor out of real vanilla beans, usually into alcohol. Products labeled vanilla essence are often weaker or artificially flavored imitations, though how the two labels are used varies by country.