extricate
verb /ˈekstrɪkeɪt/
/ˈekstrɪkeɪt/
(formal)Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they extricate | /ˈekstrɪkeɪt/ /ˈekstrɪkeɪt/ |
| he / she / it extricates | /ˈekstrɪkeɪts/ /ˈekstrɪkeɪts/ |
| past simple extricated | /ˈekstrɪkeɪtɪd/ /ˈekstrɪkeɪtɪd/ |
| past participle extricated | /ˈekstrɪkeɪtɪd/ /ˈekstrɪkeɪtɪd/ |
| -ing form extricating | /ˈekstrɪkeɪtɪŋ/ /ˈekstrɪkeɪtɪŋ/ |
- extricate somebody/something/yourself (from something) to escape or enable somebody to escape from a difficult situation
- He had managed to extricate himself from most of his official duties.
- extricate somebody/something/yourself (from something) to free somebody/something or yourself from a place where they/it or you have been stuck and unable to move
- They managed to extricate the pilot from the tangled control panel.
Word Originearly 17th cent. (in the sense ‘unravel, untangle’): from Latin extricat- ‘unravelled’, from the verb extricare, from ex- ‘out’ + tricae ‘perplexities’.