tract

Everyday

1. A tract is a large area of land or water. tree →
2. In the body, a tract is a long system of connected parts, like the digestive tract or the respiratory tract. tree →
3. A tract is also a short booklet or leaflet that tries to persuade people, often about religion or politics. tree →

In the lessons

In science it comes up in the body: the digestive tract (food pipe, stomach, intestines) and the respiratory tract (nose, windpipe, lungs). In geography it describes big pieces of land. In history and church life a tract was a booklet handed out to spread an idea. Phrases: a vast tract of, digestive tract, respiratory tract, a religious tract.

Examples

• Huge tracts of rainforest have been cut down. tree →
• Food passes through the digestive tract. tree →
• A cold is an infection of the upper respiratory tract. tree →
• The settlers bought a tract of land near the river. tree →
• A man at the station was handing out religious tracts. tree →
• Vast tracts of Australia are desert. tree →
• So one day, when they happened to be passing through a pleasant and solitary tract of country, he sat himself down on a heap of moss. tree →

Note

Countable. Trap: tract is not track (a path or rail) and not traction. Related words: attract, extract, subtract all share the Latin root for "pull".