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Definition of protract - 7 dictionary results
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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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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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
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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Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Copyright © 2009, Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.



