Adjacent Words

Tract definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

TRACT, n. [L. tractus; traho.]
1. Something drawn out or extended.
2. A region, or quantity of land or water, of indefinite extent. We may apply tract to the sandy and barren desert of Syria and Arabia, or to the narrow vales of Italy and Sardinia. We say, a rich tract of land in Connecticut or Ohio, a stony tract, or a mountainous tract. We apply tract to a single farm, or to a township or state.
3. A treatise; a written discourse or dissertation of indefinite length, but generally not of great extent.
4. In hunting, the trace or footing of a wild beast.
5. Treatment; exposition. [Not in use.]
6. Track. [Not in use.]
7. Continuity or extension of any thing; as a tract of speech. [Not much used.]
8. Continued or protracted duration; length; extend; as a long tract of time.
TRACT, v.t. To trace out; to draw out. [Not in use.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: an extended area of land [syn: tract, piece of land, piece of ground, parcel of land, parcel]
2: a system of body parts that together serve some particular purpose
3: a brief treatise on a subject of interest; published in the form of a booklet [syn: tract, pamphlet]
4: a bundle of myelinated nerve fibers following a path through the brain [syn: nerve pathway, tract, nerve tract, pathway]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Usage: often capitalized Etymology: Middle English tracte, from Medieval Latin tractus, from Latin, action of drawing, extension; perhaps from its being sung without a break by one voice Date: 14th century verses of Scripture (as from the Psalms) used between the gradual and the Gospel at some masses (as during penitential seasons) II. noun Etymology: Middle English tracte, from Latin tractus action of drawing, extension, from trahere to pull, draw Date: 15th century 1. extent or lapse of time 2. an area either large or small: as a. an indefinite stretch of land b. a defined area of land 3. a. a system of body parts or organs that act together to perform some function <the digestive tract> b. a bundle of nerve fibers having a common origin, termination, and function III. noun Etymology: Middle English, treatise, from Medieval Latin tractus, perhaps alteration of Latin tractatus tractate Date: 1760 a pamphlet or leaflet of political or religious propaganda; also a piece of writing that is suggestive of such a tract

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. n. 1 a region or area of indefinite, esp. large, extent (pathless desert tracts). 2 Anat. an area of an organ or system (respiratory tract). 3 Brit. archaic a period of time etc. Etymology: L tractus drawing f. trahere tract- draw, pull 2. n. a short treatise in pamphlet form esp. on a religious subject. Etymology: app. abbr. of L tractatus TRACTATE 3. n. RC Ch. & Mus. an anthem replacing the alleluia in some masses. Etymology: med.L tractus (cantus) drawn-out (song), past part. of L trahere draw

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Tract Tract, v. t. To trace out; to track; also, to draw out; to protact. [Obs.] --Spenser. --B. Jonson.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Tract Tract, n. [L. tractus a drawing, train, track, course, tract of land, from trahere tractum, to draw. Senses 4 and 5 are perhaps due to confusion with track. See Trace,v., and cf. Tratt.] 1. Something drawn out or extended; expanse. ``The deep tract of hell.'' --Milton. 2. A region or quantity of land or water, of indefinite extent; an area; as, an unexplored tract of sea. A very high mountain joined to the mainland by a narrow tract of earth. --Addison. 3. Traits; features; lineaments. [Obs.] The discovery of a man's self by the tracts of his countenance is a great weakness. --Bacon. 4. The footprint of a wild beast. [Obs.] --Dryden. 5. Track; trace. [Obs.] Efface all tract of its traduction. --Sir T. Browne. But flies an eagle flight, bold, and forthon, Leaving no tract behind. --Shak. 6. Treatment; exposition. [Obs.] --Shak. 7. Continuity or extension of anything; as, the tract of speech. [Obs.] --Older. 8. Continued or protracted duration; length; extent. ``Improved by tract of time.'' --Milton. 9. (R. C. Ch.) Verses of Scripture sung at Mass, instead of the Alleluia, from Septuagesima Sunday till the Saturday befor Easter; -- so called because sung tractim, or without a break, by one voice, instead of by many as in the antiphons. Syn: Region; district; quarter; essay; treatise; dissertation.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Tract Tract, n. [Abbrev.fr. tractate.] A written discourse or dissertation, generally of short extent; a short treatise, especially on practical religion. The church clergy at that time writ the best collection of tracts against popery that ever appeared. --Swift. Tracts for the Times. See Tractarian.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(tracts) 1. A tract of land is a very large area of land. A vast tract of land is ready for development... N-COUNT: usu N of n 2. A tract is a short article expressing a strong opinion on a religious, moral, or political subject in order to try to influence people's attitudes. She produced a feminist tract, 'Comments on Birth-Control', in 1930. = pamphlet N-COUNT 3. A tract is a system of organs and tubes in an animal's or person's body that has a particular function, especially the function of processing a substance in the body. (MEDICAL) Foods are broken down in the digestive tract... ...urinary tract infections. N-COUNT: usu supp N

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Region, district, territory, quarter. 2. Piece (of land), part, portion, parcel, plot, patch. 3. Treatise, dissertation, pamphlet, essay, written discourse, disquisition, sermon, homily. 4. Length, extent, continued duration.

Moby Thesaurus

acreage, amplitude, area, article, assembly-line housing, belt, billeting, block, booklet, breadth, brochure, causerie, chapbook, circular, clearing, clos, close, comic book, continuum, corn field, critique, croft, cultivated land, descant, dimension, discourse, discussion, disquisition, dissertation, district, domiciliation, doss, emptiness, empty space, enclave, essay, etude, examination, excursus, expanse, expansion, exposition, extension, extent, feature, field, first approach, folder, footstep, forty, galactic space, hayfield, homily, hospitality, housing, housing bill, housing development, housing problem, infinite space, interstellar space, introductory study, kraal, leaflet, living quarters, lodging, lodgment, lot, lower-income housing, lucubration, measure, memoir, monograph, morceau, note, nothingness, outer space, outline, paddy, pale, pamphlet, pandect, paper, paragraph, parcel, parcel of land, part, patch, piece, piece of land, plat, plot, plot of ground, portion, preliminary study, prolegomenon, proportion, quad, quadrangle, quarter, quartering, real estate, region, research paper, rice paddy, screed, section, sector, sermon, sketch, slum clearance, space, spatial extension, special article, sphere, spoor, spread, square, step, stretch, study, subdivision, superficial extension, surface, survey, term paper, territory, theme, thesis, track, tractate, transient lodging, treatise, treatment, urban renewal, vestige, void, volume, wheat field, zone