tractor

noun

trac·​tor ˈtrak-tər 

1

a

: a 4-wheeled or tracklaying automotive vehicle used especially for drawing farm equipment

b

: a smaller 2-wheeled apparatus controlled through handlebars by a walking operator

c

: truck entry 1 sense 1b

2

: an airplane having the propeller forward of the main supporting surfaces

Illustration of tractor

• tractor 1a

Examples of tractor in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Growing up in South Africa, Carter had a sense of adventure from an early age, driving tractors and motorbikes on his family’s farm and enjoying spending time in the bush. —Lewis Nunn, Forbes, 10 Dec. 2024

But it could also be integrated into a slightly wider ebike motor unit as a one-piece variable speed drive unit, or stuck into a wind turbine generator, or a car, truck, tractor, snowmobile, industrial machine, whatever. —New Atlas, 5 Dec. 2024

What’s shocking is the vulnerability that the actor shows you as he gets pulled into a relationship destined to destroy him as if guided by a tractor beam. —David Fear, Rolling Stone, 27 Nov. 2024

But their happy homecoming was tempered by the town’s shocking appearance: businesses boarded up, cars and tractors stripped of parts, houses burned to the ground. —Jake Whitney, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

New Latin, from Latin trahere

First Known Use

1900, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing tractor

• tractor trailer

Kids Definition

tractor

noun

trac·​tor ˈtrak-tər 

1

: a vehicle that has large rear wheels or moves on tracks and is used especially for pulling farm implements

2

: a short truck with no body used in combination with a trailer for hauling freight

Medical Definition

tractor

noun

trac·​tor ˈtrak-tər 

: an instrument used to exert traction on a body part or tissue (as in surgical procedures)

a urethral tractor