extricate
verb
Did you know?
Oh what a tangled web the English language weaves. Extricate, for example, may remind you of extract, another word applied when something is removed, but we can tease them apart. Although extricate and extract resemble each other, to extract something is to remove it using methods that often involve physical force, as in “the dentist had to extract my tooth.” Extricate, on the other hand, is more often used for the act of freeing someone or something from a difficult or tangled situation, which can, but need not, involve literal yanking or pulling. Extricating yourself from an awkward conversation, after all, can be as simple as announcing “I need to take this call!” and shuffling off with phone to ear. Extricate comes from the Latin verb extricare, which combines the prefix ex- (“out of”) with the noun tricae, meaning “trifles or perplexities.”
Synonyms
Examples of extricate in a Sentence
Skylar Heisey, The Arizona Republic, 16 Dec. 2024
That elicited a response from Miller, who jumped Marchand to defend Hughes, only to eat a few gloved sucker punches after Marchand somehow extricated himself from the pile.
—Thomas Drance, The Athletic, 15 Dec. 2024
The fire department's director of media relations, Corey McIsaac, told the Free Press on Tuesday that crews extricated the employee from the machine before transporting him to an area hospital for treatment.
—Nour Rahal, Detroit Free Press, 19 Nov. 2024
One person was injured and had to be extricated from their vehicle following a rollover crash in Shelton on Sunday.
—Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 11 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for extricate 
Dictionary Entries Near extricate
Cite this Entry
“Extricate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/extricate. Accessed 6 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
extricate
verb
Share