protract

American  

[proh-trakt, pruh-] / proʊˈtrækt, prə- /

verb (used with object)

• protracts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• protracted,
  past participle,  past
• protracting
  present participle

1. to draw out or lengthen, especially in time; extend the duration of; prolong.

   Synonyms:

   continue

   Antonyms:

   curtail

2. Anatomy. to extend or protrude.

3. (in surveying, mathematics, etc.) to plot and draw (lines) with a scale and a protractor.

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protract British  

/ prəˈtrækt /

verb

1. to lengthen or extend (a speech, etc); prolong in time

2. (of a muscle) to draw, thrust, or extend (a part, etc) forwards

3. to plot or draw using a protractor and scale

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Synonym Usage

See lengthen.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• protractedness
  noun
• overprotract
  verb (used with object)
• protractible
  adjective
• protractive
  adjective
• unprotracted
  adjective
• unprotractive
  adjective
• protractedly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• protracting
  present
• protracted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• protract
  simple
• protracts
  simple
• have protracted
  perfect
• has protracted
  perfect
• am protracting
  progressive
• are protracting
  progressive
• is protracting
  progressive
• have been protracting
  perfect progressive
• has been protracting
  perfect progressive

Past

• protracted
  simple
• had protracted
  perfect
• was protracting
  progressive
• were protracting
  progressive
• had been protracting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will protract
  simple
• will have protracted
  perfect
• will be protracting
  progressive
• will have been protracting
  perfect progressive

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

protract protracts protracted protracting

The judges agreed with a lower court that continuing treatment “serves only to protract his death.”

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 3, 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 Hannah More

This followed a protracted 41-month decline that began in late 2022.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026

Arsenal are set to complete their protracted move for Newcastle United captain Bruno Guimaraes.

From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026

Cubans take pride in facing hardship with resilience and ingenuity, but that fortitude comes at a high psychological cost amid the island's latest protracted crisis.

From Barron's ● Aug. 4, 2026

The Zurich Cantonal Bank said in a market commentary that the settlement "brings clarity" to a protracted legal dispute, where the litigation has been disclosed as a risk factor in every annual report since 2016.

From Barron's ● Aug. 3, 2026

And rowing makes these muscular demands not at odd intervals but in rapid sequence, over a protracted period of time, repeatedly and without respite.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown

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

A cold, cloudy, raw, and disagreeable spell happening at this period, though by no means common, will retard the operation considerably, protracting the period of helplessness.

From Rambles of a Naturalist by John D. Godman

I am persuaded that the necessity of a fine day for swarming is one reason that has induced nature to admit of bees protracting the captivity of their young queens in the royal cells.

From New observations on the natural history of bees by François Huber

“I am already half drowned, and it is only protracting my sufferings.”

From Thrilling Narratives of Mutiny, Murder and Piracy A weird series of tales of shipwreck and disaster, from the earliest part of the century to the present time, with accounts of providential escapes and heart-rending fatalities. by Anonymous

Something cognate to this in the comparison of the power and the greatness of a motive will explain the persistent fatuity of the Boer in protracting his contest with Great Britain.

From Fetichism in West Africa Forty Years' Observations of Native Customs and Superstitions by Robert Hamill Nassau

Related Words

• prolong
• put off