godan verb (-ku), transitive verb
pull out; remove; unplug; weed
Core physical use: take something out of where it is fixed, inserted, growing, or mixed in. Also covers removing an unwanted thing, such as weeds or a plug.
歯医者で親知らずを抜いた。
I had a wisdom tooth pulled at the dentist.
使
Please unplug it when you are not using it.
庭の雑草を抜いた。
I pulled the weeds in the garden.
godan verb (-ku), transitive verb
omit; leave out; skip; go without
Used when deliberately leaving something out of a list, procedure, meal, or usual routine. Common with 朝食, 手順, 名前, and similar nouns.
時間がなくて朝食を抜いた。
I skipped breakfast because I had no time.
この手順は抜かないでください。
Please do not leave out this step.
suffix, godan verb (-ku)
do to the end; do thoroughly; do completely
Suffix after the masu-stem of a verb, as in やり抜く, 生き抜く, 走り抜く. It stresses carrying an action through to the end, often despite difficulty.
彼女は最後まで走り抜いた。
She ran all the way to the end.
どんなに大変でも、この仕事をやり抜くつもりだ。
No matter how hard it is, I intend to see this job through.
godan verb (-ku), transitive verb
Used for releasing or draining something contained inside, especially air, water, or liquid.
風呂の水を抜いておいて。
Drain the bathwater for me.
タイヤの空気を少し抜いた。
I let a little air out of the tire.
godan verb (-ku), transitive verb
Focuses on choosing or extracting a particular item or portion from a larger set. It overlaps with the physical idea of pulling something out, but the selection aspect is central.
山札からカードを一枚抜いてください。
Please draw one card from the deck.
必要な部分だけを資料から抜いた。
I extracted only the necessary parts from the materials.
godan verb (-ku), transitive verb
Colloquial use for secretly taking money or goods, often a little at a time or from within an organization or place.
彼はレジの金を抜いていた。
He had been stealing money from the register.
godan verb (-ku), transitive verb
overtake; pass; outstrip; get ahead of
Used for passing someone or something in a race, ranking, competition, or comparison.
最後の直線で前の選手を抜いた。
I passed the runner ahead of me on the final straight.
売上でライバル会社を抜いた。
We overtook our rival company in sales.
godan verb (-ku), transitive verb
pierce; break through; go through
Describes something passing through or piercing a barrier. This meaning may also be written 貫く, but 貫く is usually encountered separately as つらぬく in modern Japanese.
銃弾が薄い壁を抜いた。
The bullet went through the thin wall.
godan verb (-ku), transitive verb
cut out a shape; reverse out a pattern
Used in crafts, cooking, design, dyeing, or printing when cutting out a shape or making a pattern stand out by leaving or making the surrounding area different.
クッキー生地を星形に抜く。
Cut the cookie dough into star shapes.
藍染めで模様を白く抜く。
Create the pattern in white in indigo dyeing.
godan verb (-ku), transitive verb
seize; capture; reduce a fortress
Rare historical or literary use, especially for capturing or taking a stronghold. Modern ordinary Japanese usually uses words such as 落とす or 攻め落とす for this meaning.
戦国時代を描く文章では、「城を抜く」が城を攻略する意味で使われることがある。
In writing about the Warring States period, 城を抜く is sometimes used to mean capturing a castle.
godan verb (-ku), transitive verb
scoop a story
Journalism jargon for getting or reporting a story before competitors. This is a specialized extension of 'getting ahead of' others.
その記者は特ダネを抜いた。
That reporter got a scoop.
godan verb (-ku), transitive verb
capture stones in go
Go terminology: to take an opponent's stones off the board by surrounding them.
白は黒の石を三つ抜いた。
White captured three of Black's stones.
godan verb (-ku), transitive verb
masturbate; ejaculate while masturbating
Vulgar slang, usually of a male. The object is often omitted in actual use.
彼はAVを見て抜いた。
He masturbated while watching porn.
godan verb (-ku), transitive verb
film; record on camera; pick out in a shot
Slang or media-production jargon for a camera capturing or singling out a person or scene in a photo or video.
カメラが客席の親子を抜いた。
The camera picked out a parent and child in the audience.