Meaning of extract In English

• 0 to remove or take out something:

  • They used to extract iron ore from this site.

  • The oil which is extracted from olives is used for cooking.

  • The tooth was eventually extracted.

  • After much persuasion they managed to extract the information from him.

• 1 a substance taken from a plant, flower, etc. and used especially in food or medicine:

  • malt/yeast extract

  • The cream contained extracts of/from several plants.

• 2 a particular part of a book, poem, etc. that is chosen so that it can be used in a discussion, article, etc.:

  • They published an extract from his autobiography.

• 3 to remove or take out something:

  • The dentist had to extract one of Miguel’s teeth.

• 4 a small part of a book or other piece of writing that is published separately:

  • The newspaper printed extracts from the court documents.

• 5 a substance removed from another substance, often a food, and containing a basic quality or flavor:

  • [ U ] vanilla extract

• 6 to remove a substance from the ground or from another substance:

  • In this area brown coal is extracted in open pits.

  • extract sth from sth Ethanol can be extracted from potatoes, switchgrass, garbage, and timber waste.

• 7 to get something, such as information or money, from someone, especially when they do not want to give it:

  • The proposed law would allow unions to extract fees from non-union workers for services that unions provide.

  • extract a promise He managed to extract a promise from the board that his department would not be subject to cuts.

• 8 to get a piece of information from a book, document, computer file, etc.:

  • The website itself does not automatically extract any information from users or about user behaviour.

• 9 a small part that has been taken from a book, document, computer file, etc.:

  • extract from sth In addition to its news, sport, and business coverage, the online version of the paper includes extracts from the weekend magazine.

• 10 a substance that has been got from another substance, using a particular process:

  • medicinal plant extracts