protract
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to draw out or lengthen, especially in time; extend the duration of; prolong.
- Synonyms:
- continue
- Antonyms:
- curtail
-
Anatomy. to extend or protrude.
-
(in surveying, mathematics, etc.) to plot and draw (lines) with a scale and a protractor.
verb
-
to lengthen or extend (a speech, etc); prolong in time
-
(of a muscle) to draw, thrust, or extend (a part, etc) forwards
-
to plot or draw using a protractor and scale
Synonym Usage
See lengthen.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
protractednessnoun
-
overprotractverb (used with object)
-
protractibleadjective
-
protractiveadjective
-
unprotractedadjective
-
unprotractiveadjective
-
protractedlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
protractsimple
-
protractssimple
-
have protractedperfect
-
has protractedperfect
-
am protractingprogressive
-
are protractingprogressive
-
is protractingprogressive
-
have been protractingperfect progressive
-
has been protractingperfect progressive
Past
-
protractedsimple
-
had protractedperfect
-
was protractingprogressive
-
were protractingprogressive
-
had been protractingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of protract
First recorded in 1540–50, protract is from the Latin word prōtractus (past participle of prōtrahere “to draw forth, prolong”). See pro- 1, tract 1
Explanation
To protract something is to stretch it out. If you have a disagreement with a friend that you continue for weeks and weeks, you are protracting the argument. Protract can also mean to draw a plan to scale. Basically when you protract something, you draw it out. You may remember from geometry that a protractor is a device used to draw exact angles. A protractor allows you to protract a plan for the perfect catapult — perfect to use to end a protracted battle.
Vocabulary lists containing protract
tract
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tract
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Vocabulary from Readings 6, Unit 3
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
He said continuing treatment would only protract his death.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 25, 2022
Last week, Mr Justice Hayden ruled that continued treatment was "futile" and that it "serves only to protract his death, whilst being unable to prolong his life".
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2022
Associated Newspapers "have a right to this trial, and I think that that is just going to protract the pain for Meghan Markle," Stephens said.
From Fox News ● Dec. 2, 2021
“Trying to fight that is so difficult,” she said, in part because the sovereign citizens often purposely protract litigation to stall efforts to remove them.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 26, 2021
I brushed the lever lightly, listening as the hydraulic cylinders hissed softly to protract.
From "Educated" by Tara Westover
The episodic nature of the work protracts the ending.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2023
“If the conflict protracts, the Ukrainians have more leverage to be able to negotiate,” Watling said.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 3, 2022
What distinguishes this pandemic as a traumatic experience, she said, is that no one knows when it will end, which protracts anxiety.
From New York Times ● May 16, 2020
Matthew Warchus's revival protracts the overall experience to three hours... at least a small part of this excess is attributable to the meal Spall makes of his lines.
From BBC ● Apr. 7, 2016
The too great profusion of them protracts the imbecility of childhood.
From Coelebs In Search of a Wife by More, Hannah
That growth was driven primarily by assets it bought from Hess last year, following a protracted arbitration fight with Exxon, as well as the Permian.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
They fear that the two nations are at risk of settling into a protracted low-level conflict that is destructive enough to disrupt regional economies indefinitely.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
The protracted heat and humidity, with warm nights offering little relief, has had weather and public health authorities warning of an elevated risk of heat illness on and off for weeks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
The move "gatecrashed" an earlier £5.5bn agreement between EasyJet and US private credit group Castlelake, marking what the paper calls "the latest episode in a protracted takeover saga".
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
All her classmates are complaining about it—Bronte’s protracted digressions about human nature, the subplots about Jane’s friends at Lowood School, the long-winded, “unrealistic” dialogue.
From "Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline
It’s good that the bar at Itsumono is a fine hangout, because as the place fills up you will hang out, with waits between drinks protracting even with two barkeeps at work.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 2, 2023
I suggest that we gain nothing by protracting this scene in the face of a crowded assembly.
From The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. 20 (of 25) by Stevenson, Robert Louis
Such politic concessions by the Spaniards had doubtless their influence in opening the eyes of the Morisco leaders to the folly of protracting the war in their present desperate circumstances.
From History of The Reign of Philip The Second King of Spain Volume The Third and Biographical & Critical Miscellanies by Prescott, William Hickling
The king, after protracting the time as long as he could, went into his coach and was safely conducted to the army, who were hastening to their rendezvous at Triplo Heath, near Cambridge.
From The History of England in Three Volumes, Vol.I., Part E. From Charles I. to Cromwell by Hume, David
And if they catch any one in their toils, they entangle him in a thousand meshes, pretending sickness by way of protracting the consultations.
From The Roman History of Ammianus Marcellinus During the Reigns of the Emperors Constantius, Julian, Jovianus, Valentinian, and Valens by Yonge, Charles Duke
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
