excerpt
To select and extract a short passage from a longer text
Examples
In a meeting
“I'll excerpt the relevant paragraph from the contract for the summary.”
Over coffee
“She excerpted her favorite quotes from the book for her journal.”
Why this word
extract
excerpt specifically refers to a passage taken from a longer written or musical work, while extract is more general
selection
excerpt implies a representative portion of a text chosen for reference, while selection is vaguer about source and purpose
passage
excerpt emphasizes that the text is extracted from a larger work for specific use, while passage is just any section of text
Usage tip
Use when you need to pull out specific portions of text while maintaining the original wording
Etymology
Latin: excerptus (picked out), from ex- (out) + carpere (to pick, pluck)
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Related words
broach
To bring up or introduce a topic for discussion
concise
Giving a lot of information clearly in few words.
ambiguous
Open to more than one interpretation; not clear or decided.
convey
To communicate or make an idea, feeling, or meaning known.
reiterate
To say something again for emphasis or clarity.
paraphrase
To restate something in different words to make it clearer or shorter.