tractor
A powerful motor vehicle with large, deeply treaded rear tires, designed to pull heavy agricultural machinery, implements, or trailers.
Refers specifically to the primary towing vehicle on a farm, which does not perform tasks on its own but provides the mechanical power (via drawbar or power take-off) for other implements.
Word relationships
- traction engine: An older, historical term specifically referring to steam-powered agricultural engines of the 19th century.
Commonly confused with
- bulldozer: A bulldozer is a heavy crawler vehicle equipped with a metal blade for pushing earth and debris, whereas a tractor is designed primarily to pull agricultural implements.
Word family
- traction (noun): The grip of a tire on a road or track; the action of drawing or pulling a load.
Collocations
- utility tractor
- tractor pull
- tow with a tractor
- tractor cabin
Example sentences
- "The farmer coupled the heavy disc harrow to the back of the tractor before heading out to the fields." Describing daily farm operations and mechanical reliance.
- "By the 1920s, the gasoline-powered tractor had begun to replace horses as the primary source of draft power on American farms." A historical reference to the transition from animal power.
Memory hook
Think of a 'tractor' as a machine that 'tracks' across the dirt to 'drag' (traction) heavy tools. Tractor = Traction + Motor (the ultimate puller).
When not to use
Do not use to describe self-propelled harvesting machines like combine harvesters, or general-purpose utility vehicles like trucks.
Fun facts
- The famous sports car manufacturer Lamborghini actually started as a tractor manufacturer after World War II, using surplus military hardware.
Related words
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