Tract Definition & Meaning

American

British

Scientific

Etymology

Examples

Related Words

Synonyms tract 1 American [trakt] / trækt /

noun

1. an expanse or area of land, water, etc.; region; stretch.

   Synonyms: territory, district

2. Anatomy.

   1. a definite region or area of the body, especially a group, series, or system of related parts or organs.

      the digestive tract.

   2. a bundle of nerve fibers having a common origin and destination.

3. a stretch or period of time; interval; lapse.

4. Roman Catholic Church. an anthem consisting of verses of Scripture, sung after the gradual in the Mass from Septuagesima until the day before Easter and on certain other occasions, taking the place of the alleluias and the verse that ordinarily accompany the gradual.

5. Ornithology. a pteryla.

tract 2 American [trakt] / trækt /

noun

1. a brief treatise or pamphlet for general distribution, usually on a religious or political topic.

   Synonyms: disquisition, homily, essay

tract 1 British / trækt /

noun

1. RC Church an anthem in some Masses

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 tract 2 British / trækt /

noun

1. an extended area, as of land

2. anatomy a system of organs, glands, or other tissues that has a particular function

   the digestive tract

3. a bundle of nerve fibres having the same function, origin, and termination

   the optic tract

4. archaic an extended period of time

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 tract 3 British / trækt /

noun

1. a treatise or pamphlet, esp a religious or moralistic one

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 tract Scientific / trăkt /

1. A series of body organs that work together to perform a specialized function, such as digestion.

2. A bundle of nerve fibers, especially in the central nervous system, that begin and end in the same place and share a common function.

Etymology

Origin of tract1

First recorded in 1350–1400; (in senses referring to extent of space) from Latin tractus “stretch (of space or time), a drawing out,” equivalent to trac-, variant stem of trahere “to draw” + -tus suffix of verbal action; tract 1 def. 4 is from Medieval Latin tractus, apparently identical with the above, though literal sense unexplained

Origin of tract1

1400–50; late Middle English tracte, apparently shortening of Medieval Latin tractātus tractate

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The idea of a tube up my tuchus didn’t scare me, nor did the notorious prep of drinking a foul-tasting liquid to cleanse your intestinal tract.

From Los Angeles Times

Argentina's government has declared an emergency in Patagonia, where wildfires have been ripping through vast tracts of forest since December.

From Barron's

The king also oversees a trust that owns and controls vast tracts of communal land in KwaZulu-Natal, which is supposed to be for the benefit local communities.

From BBC

A researcher’s quest to preserve tracts of the Amazon basin leads him into wild adventure.

From The Wall Street Journal

To understand who faces the greatest risks, the researchers combined their pollution estimates with U.S. census data and mortality statistics at the census tract level.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• estate
• expanse
• parcel
• plot
• portion
• section

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.