tractor

tractor — noun

1. A powerful farm machine with oversized rear wheels and deep-tread tyres, designe

1.nounA2
Definition

A powerful farm machine with oversized rear wheels and deep-tread tyres, designed to drag ploughs, trailers, and other tools across farmland.

Example

Amihan's father drives his tractor pulling a plough across the rice fields each planting season.

pull a plough / pull a trailer

A tractor's large back tyres help it move through muddy ground without getting stuck.

Common collocations
  • farm tractor
  • tractor tyre
  • tractor shed
  • tractor driver
  • tractor pull
  • drive a tractor
  • operate a tractor
  • ride a tractor
Synonyms
  • traction engine

    an older, steam-powered vehicle that performed similar farm work; now mostly historical

  • farm vehicle

    a broader category that includes tractors, combine harvesters, and other machines

Usage Note

In everyday conversation, 'tractor' almost always means a farm vehicle. The plural form is common when discussing farm equipment in general.

Common Mistakes

The farmer drove a tractor-trailer to the field.
The farmer drove a tractor to the field.
'Tractor-trailer' refers to an articulated lorry, not a farm vehicle.
The tractor has small tyres for farm work.
A farm tractor has large, thick rear tyres for gripping the soil.
The large rear wheels are a defining feature of farm tractors.

2. The front section of an articulated lorry, containing the driver's cabin and eng

2.nounB2
Definition

The front section of an articulated lorry, containing the driver's cabin and engine, designed to pull a separate trailer or container.

Example

Asher climbed into the tractor and checked his mirrors before leaving the depot.

climb into the tractor (truck-cab sense)

A tractor without a trailer is easier to park in a tight space.

Common collocations
  • tractor-trailer
  • tractor unit
  • tractor cab
  • cab-over tractor
  • back the tractor to
Synonyms
  • cab

    refers specifically to the driver's compartment rather than the whole front section

  • tractor unit

    the formal technical term, common in British English and the trucking industry

  • rig

    an informal North American term that can refer to the entire truck or just the tractor

Usage Note

This sense appears commonly in the phrases 'tractor-trailer' (North America) or 'tractor unit' (UK). In the trucking industry, the tractor may also be called the 'cab' or the 'rig.'

Common Mistakes

He parked the tractor in the barn.
He parked the tractor in the depot.
'Barn' refers to a farm building; truck tractors park in depots, yards, or terminals.

Word family

  • tractor-trailer
    nounB2
  • traction
    nounB2
  • tractive
    adjectiveC1
  • tractor unit
    nounB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

These three farm and construction vehicles are often confused by learners. A tractor is a general-purpose vehicle with large rear wheels used to pull or power farm equipment — it does not usually carry a load itself. A bulldozer has a wide metal blade at the front for pushing earth and is tracked (metal belts instead of wheels), making it better for construction sites. A combine harvester both cuts and threshes grain crops in a single pass and is much larger and more specialised than a tractor. For example, you would say 'the farmer drove the tractor across the field pulling a trailer of hay,' but 'the combine harvester moved slowly through the wheat field, cutting and separating the grain in one operation.'

tractor ↗bulldozercombine harvester

Common collocations

Nouns

  • tractor driver
  • tractor wheel
  • tractor engine
  • tractor-trailer

Phrases

  • drive a tractor
  • operate a tractor
  • ride a tractor
  • tractor unit
  • cab-over tractor

Prepositions

  • on a tractor
  • by tractor
  • with a tractor

Etymology

LatinEnglish

The word 'tractor' comes from Latin 'trahere,' meaning 'to pull or drag.' It entered English in the mid-19th century as a term for anything that pulls. The modern meaning — a farm vehicle that pulls equipment — became common in the early 1900s when motorised tractors replaced horse-drawn ploughs and steam-powered traction engines.