extractive Meaning, Definition & Usage

Cf. F. extractif.

Capable of being extracted. "Thirty grains of extractive matter." Kirwan.
Tending or serving to extract or draw out.
Certain branches of industry are conveniently designated extractive: e.g., agriculture, pastoral and mining pursuits, cutting of lumber, etc. Cairnes.

Anything extracted; an extract.
Extractives, of which the most constant are urea, kreatin, and grape sugar. H. N. Martin.
(Chem.) (a) A chemical principle once supposed to exist in all extracts. Obs. (b) Any one of a large class of substances obtained by extraction, and consisting largely of nitrogenous hydrocarbons, such as xanthin, hypoxanthin, and creatin extractives from muscle tissue.