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traction

UK/ˈtɹæk.ʃən/US/ˈtɹæk.ʃən/
nounB2+Common in everyday speech and writing · #6,213 of 15,258leans written

Traction is the grip a wheel or a foot has on a surface. Lose traction, gain traction, four-wheel traction.

Once a wheel is sliding it has far less grip than one still rolling, which is the whole reason antilock brakes exist. In medicine, traction is a steady pull applied to a limb. Figuratively, an idea gains traction when it starts to catch on.

Definitions of traction

  1. 1nountractionThe grip a wheel or a foot has on a surface.B2+

    “The tyres lost traction on the icy road, and the car slid into a ditch.”

traction is a grip.

Where it comes from

Medieval Latin tractio comes from trahere, to pull. Tractor, attract and subtract are all relatives.

  1. Latin

    tractus

  2. Medieval Latin

    tractio

  3. English, today

    traction

Built from

  • trahere · Latin — pull

From Medieval Latin tractio, from Latin tractus, perfect passive participle of verb trahere (“pull”), + noun of action suffix -io (genitive -ionis).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

traction in the wild

  • The basic idea behind the need for a traction control system is the loss of road grip can compromise steering control and stability of vehicles.

    Traction control system

  • A traction engine is a steam-powered tractor used to move heavy loads on roads, plough ground or to provide power at a chosen location.

    Traction engine

  • The name derives from the Latin tractus, meaning 'drawn', since the prime function of any traction engine is to draw a load behind it.

    Traction engine

  • Electric traction is also less flexible than other power sources since electric trains need third rails or overhead wires.

    Railway electrification

  • In these areas there are no traction current networks.

    Traction power network

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

the tractio family

tractionretraction

traction — used about once every 1,790 pages · #6,213 · point at the bar for the others