v. & n.
--v.tr.
1. remove or take out, esp. by effort or force (anything firmly rooted).
2 obtain (money, an admission, etc.) with difficulty or against a person's will.
3 obtain (a natural resource) from the earth.
4 select or reproduce for quotation or performance (a passage of writing, music, etc.).
5 obtain (juice etc.) by suction, pressure, distillation, etc.
6 derive (pleasure etc.).
7 Math. find (the root of a number).
8 archaic deduce (a principle etc.).
--n.
1. a short passage taken from a book, piece of music, etc.; an excerpt.
2 a preparation containing the active principle of a substance in concentrated form (malt extract).
Derivatives:
extractable adj. extractability n.
Etymology: L extrahere extract- (as EX-(1), trahere draw)