Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
🦴 Bone separator 🙉 Distraction ❌ Wrong answer
distractor

distractor

1 8.9
A tool used in surgery that slowly pulls bones apart to make new bone
  • noun
  • /dɪsˈtræktər/
  • Specialized
translation icon : distractor
  • In the operating room, the team carefully adjusted the distractor to promote new bone growth.

Examples

  • The surgeon used a distractor to gently pull apart the fractured bones for better alignment.

  • The distractor symbol in Phases 3 and 4 was a ball.

    Academic text (2013)

  • Before the procedure, the doctor explained how the distractor would help correct the patient's deformity.

Surface Forms

distractor singular
distractors plural

Morphology

distractor = distract (semi-transparent) = distract + or

Form is clearly distract + -or, but the medical device sense is a specialized technical extension of 'distract' meaning 'to pull apart / separate', which may not be transparent to general learners.

Etymology

Distractor comes from dis- 'apart' and tract 'pull'. Think of it like a small tractor that gently pulls two bone parts apart so the body fills the gap with new bone, which is why a medical distractor separates bones to help them grow.