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Definition of protract - 7 dictionary results

pro⋅tract

  [proh-trakt, pruh-]
Use protract in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to draw out or lengthen, esp. in time; extend the duration of; prolong.
2. Anatomy. to extend or protrude.
3. (in surveying, mathematics, etc.) to plot and draw (lines) with a scale and a protractor.
Origin:
1540–50; < L prōtractus (ptp. of prōtrahere to draw forth, prolong). See pro- 1 , tract 1

Related forms:
pro⋅tract⋅ed⋅ly, adverb
pro⋅tract⋅ed⋅ness, noun
pro⋅tract⋅i⋅ble, adjective
pro⋅trac⋅tive, adjective

Synonyms:
1. continue. See lengthen.

Antonyms:
1. curtail.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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pro·tract   (prō-trākt', prə-)   
tr.v.   pro·tract·ed, pro·tract·ing, pro·tracts
  1. To draw out or lengthen in time; prolong: disputants who needlessly protracted the negotiations.
  2. Mathematics To draw to scale by means of a scale and protractor; plot.
  3. Anatomy To extend or protrude (a body part).

[Latin prōtrahere, prōtract- : prō-, forth; see pro-1 + trahere, to drag.]
pro·tract'ed·ly (-trāk'tĭd-lē) adv., pro·tract'ed·ness n., pro·trac'tive adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Protract

Pro*tract"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Protracted; p. pr. vb. n. Protracting.] [L. protractus, p. p. of protrahere to forth, protract; pro forward + trahere to draw. See Portrait, Portray.]

1. To draw out or lengthen in time or (rarely) in space; to continue; to prolong; as, to protract an argument; to protract a war.

2. To put off to a distant time; to delay; to defer; as, to protract a decision or duty. --Shak.

3. (Surv.) To draw to a scale; to lay down the lines and angles of, with scale and protractor; to plot.

4. (Zo["o]l.) To extend; to protrude; as, the cat can protract its claws; -- opposed to retract.

Protract

Pro*tract"\, n. [L. protractus.] Tedious continuance or delay. [Obs.] --Spenser.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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protract 
1535 (implied in protraction), "prolongation, extension of time," from L.L. protractionem "a drawing out or lengthening," from pp. stem of protrahere, from pro- "forward" + trahere "to draw" (see tract (1)). Etymologically identical with portray, which was altered in French. Protractor "one who lengthens (an action)" is from 1611; sense of "instrument for drawing angles" first recorded 1658.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: pro·tract
Pronunciation: prO-'trakt
Function: transitive verb
: to extend forward or outward protractedand retracted in chewing> —compare RETRACT
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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protract pro·tract (prō-trākt', prə-)
v. pro·tract·ed, pro·tract·ing, pro·tracts
To extend or protrude a body part.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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