To pull out or extract something that is inserted or fixed in place (e.g. unplugging, pulling out a nail or weed).
床に打ち込んだ釘を抜くのは大変だ。
Pulling out a nail hammered into the floor is hard work.
テレビを消してからコンセントを抜いてください。
Please unplug the TV after turning it off.
畑の雑草を根ごと抜いた。
I pulled the weeds out of the field, roots and all.
To omit or leave out something; to go without or skip (e.g., skip a meal or omit a part).
今朝は寝坊して朝ごはんを抜いた。
I overslept this morning and skipped breakfast.
冗長な部分は原稿から抜いてください。
Please remove the redundant parts from the manuscript.
本の序章を抜いて二章から読み始めた。
I skipped the introduction and started reading from chapter two.
A suffix attached to the stem of the -masu form of a verb meaning 'to do completely/to the end' (e.g., やり抜く, 耐え抜く).
彼は約束した仕事を最後までやり抜いた。
He carried the promised work through to the end.
困難を乗り越え抜くには覚悟が必要だ。
You need determination to persevere through difficulties.
試験期間中、彼女は勉強し抜いた。
During the exam period she studied right through (without giving up).
To let out air or drain liquid; to empty (e.g., let air out of a tire or drain a bathtub).
自転車のタイヤの空気を抜いて運んだ。
I let the air out of the bicycle tire to carry it.
お風呂の残り湯を全部抜いて掃除した。
I drained all the remaining bathwater and cleaned it.
応急処置で膿を抜く必要があった。
An emergency procedure required draining the pus.
To pick out or select something; to extract or single out items from a group.
大量のデータから重要な項目だけを抜き出した。
I extracted only the important items from the large dataset.
彼は候補者の中から一人を抜いて推薦した。
He singled out one person from the candidates to recommend.
本から面白い箇所だけを抜き書きした。
I copied down only the interesting parts from the book.
To pilfer or steal something quietly; to appropriate small amounts surreptitiously.
休憩室からお菓子を抜いたのが見つかってしまった。
I was caught taking sweets from the break room.
その社員は会社の小口現金を抜いていたことが判明した。
It turned out that the employee had been pocketing petty cash from the company.
To remove or get rid of something unwanted; to take something away (physical or abstract).
システムから古い機能を抜いて動作を軽くした。
We removed old functions from the system to make it run faster.
虫歯を抜くために歯医者に行った。
I went to the dentist to have a decayed tooth pulled.
To pass or overtake someone or something; to get ahead (commonly used for vehicles or races).
山道で慎重に前の車を抜いた。
I carefully overtook the car in front on the mountain road.
彼はラストスパートでライバルを抜いて優勝した。
He passed his rival in the final sprint and won.
渋滞中に無理に車線を変えて他車を抜くのは危険だ。
It's dangerous to change lanes recklessly to pass other cars in a traffic jam.
To pierce or penetrate; to go through something. Also used metaphorically for carrying something through (often written 貫く).
刃が鎧を抜いて中まで達した。
The blade went through the armor and reached inside.
彼は自分の信念を最後まで抜いた。
He stuck to his beliefs to the end.
To cut out or create a pattern by leaving part undyed (a dyeing technique); to produce a motif by removing or preventing dye in areas.
伝統的な技法で布の一部分の色を抜いて模様を作った。
Using traditional techniques, they created a pattern by leaving certain parts undyed.
To seize or capture (e.g., a stronghold); to reduce or neutralize an opponent's strength (often used in military/strategic contexts).
敵の拠点を抜く作戦が成功した。
The operation to take the enemy stronghold succeeded.
To scoop a story; to obtain an exclusive or sensational piece of news (used in journalism).
あの週刊誌が大物政治家の不祥事を抜いた。
That weekly magazine scooped the scandal of a big politician.
To take out or capture an opponent's stones (in go); to remove stones from the board.
その妙手で相手の三つの石を抜いた。
With that brilliant move he captured three of his opponent's stones.
Vulgar slang for a male masturbating or ejaculating during masturbation.
その言葉は下品なので公の場で『抜く』という表現は避けた方がいい。
That word is vulgar, so it's better to avoid using '抜く' in that sense in public.
性的な内容を暗示する文脈で『抜く』が使われることがある。
In sexual contexts, '抜く' can be used to imply masturbation.
Slang for taking a photo or recording video (colloquial usage).
試合の決定的瞬間をスマホで抜いてSNSに上げた。
He captured the decisive moment of the match on his phone and uploaded it to social media.
彼はライブ中に動画を抜いて友達に見せた。
He recorded a video during the live show and showed it to his friends.