Did you know?
Oh what a tangled web the English language weaves. Extricate, for example, may remind you of extract, another word applied when something is removed, but we can tease them apart. Although extricate and extract resemble each other, to extract something is to remove it using methods that often involve physical force, as in “the dentist had to extract my tooth.” Extricate, on the other hand, is more often used for the act of freeing someone or something from a difficult or tangled situation, which can, but need not, involve literal yanking or pulling. Extricating yourself from an awkward conversation, after all, can be as simple as announcing “I need to take this call!” and shuffling off with phone to ear. Extricate comes from the Latin verb extricare, which combines the prefix ex- (“out of”) with the noun tricae, meaning “trifles or perplexities.”
Examples of extricate in a Sentence
Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 9 June 2026
Hospitalized with significant injuries Rescuers started to extricate the woman by using saws to remove panels from the trash chute discharge.
—Alexa Herrera, CBS News, 8 June 2026
Russo and Flanagan were pronounced dead after being mechanically extricated from the wreckage, records show.
—Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 6 June 2026
First responders extricated him quickly.
—Sam Gillette, PEOPLE, 3 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for extricate
Cite this Entry
“Extricate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/extricate. Accessed 11 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
extricate
verb
