protract

English

Etymology

From the past participle stem of Latin prōtrahō.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /pɹəˈtɹakt/

Verb

protract (third-person singular simple present protracts, present participle protracting, simple past and past participle protracted)

1. To draw out; to extend, especially in duration.
   • 2010, Christopher Hitchens, ‘The Men Who Made England’, The Atlantic, Mar 2010:

     Still, form these extraordinary pages you can learn that it's very bad to be burned alive on a windy day, because the breeze will keep flicking the flames away from you and thus protract the process.

2. To use a protractor.
3. (rare) To draw or delineate.

Synonyms

• (to draw out): prolong

Derived terms

• protractile

Translations

To draw out; to extend, especially in duration.

• Dutch: verlengen (nl), aanhouden (nl), rekken (nl)
• Finnish: pitkittää (fi)
• French: prolonger (fr), tirer en longueur (fr)

• Italian: protrarre (it)
• Maori: autō (mi)
• Portuguese: prolongar (pt)

To use a protractor.

• Dutch: op schaal tekenen (nl)

To draw or delineate.

• Dutch: schetsen (nl), afbakenen (nl)