tractor

[ trak-ter ]

noun

1. a powerful motor-driven vehicle with large, heavy treads, used for pulling farm machinery, other vehicles, etc.
2. Also called truck tractor. a short truck with a driver's cab but no body, designed for hauling a trailer or semitrailer.
3. something used for drawing or pulling.
4. Aeronautics.
   1. a propeller mounted at the front of an airplane, thus exerting a pull.
   2. Also called tractor airplane. an airplane with a propeller so mounted.

tractor

/ ˈtræktə /

noun

1. a motor vehicle used to pull heavy loads, esp farm machinery such as a plough or harvester. It usually has two large rear wheels with deeply treaded tyres
2. a short motor vehicle with a powerful engine and a driver's cab, used to pull a trailer, as in an articulated lorry
3. an aircraft with its propeller or propellers mounted in front of the engine

Word History and Origins

Origin of tractor¹

1855–60; < Latin trac-, variant stem of trahere to draw, pull + -tor -tor

Word History and Origins

Origin of tractor¹

C18: from Late Latin: one who pulls, from trahere to drag

Example Sentences

The farmers' demonstration was best summed up in two images: real tractors being driven by farmers around Parliament Square, and beside them a collection of toy tractors being peddled around by their children.

From BBC

Koebler explained that the movement kickstarted more than 15 years ago when a growing number of farmers struggled to repair their John Deere tractors, which had become more high-tech with new sensors and software.

From Salon

Dozens of tractors and farm vehicles were parked on the prom outside the conference at Venue Cymru.

From BBC

"I learned to drive a tractor, I learned to go up and down and turn the earth."

From BBC

On a recent Sunday, huge tractors, backhoes and trucks blazed down a two-lane country highway, blaring their horns on their way to a “Farmers for Trump” rally near Hilmar.

From Los Angeles Times