What does extract mean?
Word: Extract
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: Extract means to take or pull something out, often with effort or care; as a noun, it is a short passage from a book, or a substance drawn from a plant.
Synonyms: remove, pull out, draw out
Antonyms: put in
How do you spell extract?
Syllables: ex - tract
Tricky part: The end is ct, so extrakt is wrong; another common slip changes the vowel (extrect).
Watch out for: extrakt, extrect, ekstract
Memory tip: A tractor pulls things along, and to extract is to pull something out: picture the tractor hauling it free.
Extract in a sentence
Example 1: Bees make honey, and farmers extract it carefully from the honeycomb.
Example 2: Our English textbook has an extract from a story by Ruskin Bond.
Example 3: Oil is extracted from mustard seeds by crushing them.
Fun Fact
Vanilla extract, used in cakes and ice cream, comes from vanilla pods, which are the fruit of a climbing orchid.
Practise the CREST Way
Jumble Tumble
Choose the correct sequence of the jumbled letters to form a meaningful word:
1234567 ctrxtae
a) 7423651
b) 4723615
c) 7423615
d) 7426315
Show answer
c) 7423615. Reading positions 7, 4, 2, 3, 6, 1 and 5 gives e-x-t-r-a-c-t.
Spell Spies
Choose the misspelt word/s in the given sentence:
At the science fair, Kabir showed us how to extract salt from sea water by heating it gently in a pan until only white cristals were left.
a) extract and heating
b) cristals and science
c) only cristals
d) only heating
Show answer
c) only cristals. Crystals has a y after the r; extract and the other words are correct.
Word Tally
How many words are misspelt in the sentence?
Grandma showed us how to extract juice from sugarcane with an old hand press, and we drank it with a pinch of black salt and lemon.
a) 3
b) 2
c) 0
d) 1
Show answer
c) 0. Lemon has one m here, and everything else is right too, so there are no errors.
Sound Check
In which word is 'ex' pronounced differently?
a) exam
b) exist
c) extract
d) exhaust
Show answer
c) extract. In extract the ex is said eks; in exist, exam and exhaust it turns into egz.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which of these is extracted from the ground by miners?
a) timber
b) cotton
c) wool
d) coal
Show answer
d) coal
2. In 'a short extract from a famous speech', an extract is ____.
a) a summary in your own words
b) a part taken from something longer
c) a speech made up on the spot
d) a copy of the whole speech
Show answer
b) a part taken from something longer
