protractor

American  

[proh-trak-ter, pruh-] / proʊˈtræk tər, prə- /

noun

1. a person or thing that protracts.

2. (in surveying, mathematics, etc.) an instrument having a graduated arc for plotting or measuring angles.

3. Anatomy. a muscle that causes a part to protrude.

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protractor British  

/ prəˈtræktə /

noun

1. an instrument for measuring or drawing angles on paper, usually a flat semicircular transparent plastic sheet graduated in degrees

2. a person or thing that protracts

3. a surgical instrument for removing a bullet from the body

4. anatomy a former term for extensor

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Etymology

Origin of protractor

From Medieval Latin, dating back to 1605–15; protract, -tor

Example Sentences

The head coach gets a warning, I mean that normally - I don’t know, I didn’t have a protractor out there.

From Washington Times • Dec. 11, 2023

Cook admitted he had done his mapping with a protractor and his naked eye, a methodology that seemed to leave Judge Zuniga in disbelief.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 29, 2021

Study is holding an open book and is surrounded by objects of learning: a lyre, an artist's palette and a protractor.

From BBC • Oct. 23, 2020

But where Stella used a protractor to define the curves of his compositions, Gubbiotti seems to look to video games and other computer graphics in devising his hard-edge, multifaceted pictures.

From Washington Post • Mar. 8, 2019

He did not mention the incident at all, but asked me if I could bring him the following things: some pencils, plain white paper, a ruler, a protractor, and a drawing compass.

From "Z for Zachariah" by Robert C. O’Brien