extraction

noun

ex·​trac·​tion ik-ˈstrak-shən How to pronounce extraction (audio)
1
: the act or process of extracting something
2
: ancestry, origin
a family of French extraction
3
: something extracted

Examples of extraction in a Sentence

tooth extractions and other dental procedures the extraction of teeth by dentists the extraction of juices from plant matter
Recent Examples on the Web Groundwater extraction is one of the primary drivers of coastal subsidence. Cnn.com, The Mercury News, 7 Mar. 2024 The race to monetize space is on, from lunar delivery services and commercial space stations through to the extraction of valuable resources from asteroids and the Moon. George Dvorsky / Gizmodo, Quartz, 7 Mar. 2024 All across the Gulf Coast—which is already low-lying—extraction of groundwater and fossil fuels has led to subsidence that only drops elevations further, opening up more places to more inundation. Matt Simon, WIRED, 6 Mar. 2024 Curtis Moore, the company's senior vice president of marketing and corporate development, emphasizes that during extraction and transportation, the ore remains unprocessed and is not highly radioactive or dangerous. Trilce Estrada Olvera, The Arizona Republic, 5 Mar. 2024 The Unknown, by comparison, is a fascinating extraction of Dahllian horror by a piece of software trying to process his writing. Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 29 Feb. 2024 There are other extractions beyond these, and all of them help a business tie its disparate information sources together through a common lens—the NLP extractions. Jeff Catlin, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024 The guys have to carry the injured to the extraction point between 2 and 8 kilometers (1.2 and 5 miles) away. Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, 29 Feb. 2024 The next highest group was construction and extraction workers with 1,056 fatalities, an 11% increase from 2021. Steve Lieberman, USA TODAY, 27 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'extraction.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of extraction was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near extraction

Cite this Entry

“Extraction.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/extraction. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

extraction

noun
ex·​trac·​tion ik-ˈstrak-shən How to pronounce extraction (audio)
1
: the act or process of extracting
2
: the origin of a person
of Italian extraction

Medical Definition

extraction

noun
ex·​trac·​tion ik-ˈstrak-shən How to pronounce extraction (audio)
: the act or process of extracting something
extraction of a tooth

More from Merriam-Webster on extraction

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