tractor

noun

trac·​tor ˈtrak-tər 

1

a

: a 4-wheeled or tracklaying automotive vehicle used especially for drawing farm equipment

b

: a smaller 2-wheeled apparatus controlled through handlebars by a walking operator

c

: truck entry 1 sense 1b

2

: an airplane having the propeller forward of the main supporting surfaces

Illustration of tractor

• tractor 1a

Examples of tractor in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Knowing when a burst might happen within the larger cycle could give storm warnings on medium timescales—kind of like a heliophysics Farmers’ Almanac for both satellite and tractor operators. —Sarah Scoles, Scientific American, 10 Dec. 2025

That includes a more than 15% tax on tractors and herbicides. —Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 9 Dec. 2025

Three people are dead, including a minor, after a Philadelphia man driving a tractor-trailer crashed into their SUV in East Windsor Township on the New Jersey Turnpike Sunday afternoon, state police said. —Tom Ignudo, CBS News, 8 Dec. 2025

During this phase, the carriage was pulled by a 1947 Massey Harris tractor that the couple decorated with flowing pumpkin vines and leaves. —Stephanie Ogilvie, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Dec. 2025

Word History

Etymology

New Latin, from Latin trahere

First Known Use

1900, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing tractor

• tractor trailer

Rhymes for tractor

• acter
• actor
• factor
• attractor
• cofactor
• compactor
• contactor
• contractor
• distractor
• extractor
• impactor
• protractor

Kids Definition

tractor

noun

trac·​tor ˈtrak-tər 

1

: a vehicle that has large rear wheels or moves on tracks and is used especially for pulling farm implements

2

: a short truck with no body used in combination with a trailer for hauling freight

Medical Definition

tractor

noun

trac·​tor ˈtrak-tər 

: an instrument used to exert traction on a body part or tissue (as in surgical procedures)

a urethral tractor