traction
16
4.2
- noun
- /ˈtrækʃən/
:
tracción
- The car lost traction on the icy road and started to skid.
- tire traction
- traction control
- traction motors
Plus we have traction control totally off.
- Plus we have traction control totally off.
- So if you lose traction, you start sliding all over the place.
- They're light, more responsive, foam adds spring to every step, extra traction grips the pavement.
- But from the training we had of learning how to break traction on the driving in the rain, can you drive?
- You can look at the relative movement forward speed of the vehicle relative to the speed of the tyre spinning and you can say, haha, I don't have enough traction.
- And that lift can cause the race car to kind of lift upward and not be as much in traction with the with the ground.
Examples
-
After a minute, the tires gained traction, the sound evened out, and taillights disappeared in the thickening snow.
Fiction book (1998) -
For an instant, the truck skidded sideways as its tires lost traction in the mud.
Fiction book (1996) -
So if you lose traction, you start sliding all over the place.
-
You lose traction and the back end kicks out.
-
And so if you weren't careful, you would lose traction on this part of the road.
-
The tires dig in, fighting for traction -- and suddenly the truck lurches free.
Fiction book (1990) -
LeMalle tries to back out, but can't find traction in the mud.
Fiction book (1993) -
The rear wheels regain their traction on the road surface, and the car swings away onto the motorway above.
Fiction book (1996) -
Get-A-Grip is a product that stretches over winter footwear to provide traction on ice and snow.
Academic text (2000) -
To drive safely, you need to maintain traction on wet surfaces.
Synonyms
151
3.5
Force that stops two surfaces from sliding easily
30
3.5
How well a moving object holds the surface it moves on
Antonyms
Compounds
- Archaic
A steam-powered vehicle with wheels that pulls heavy loads on farms and roads
How Grippy
Surface Forms
Morphology
traction = tract + ion
The sense 'grip/friction' is a figurative or extended use of the idea of pulling/holding; learners may recognize the relation in context but it is not fully predictable from the root alone.
Etymology
Traction comes from the Latin trahere, which means 'to pull' and is the same root as tractor, a machine that pulls. In driving, traction is the grip between tire and road that stops slipping, so think of the tires 'pulling' the car forward.