Tractor vs. Backhoe — What's the Difference?

A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or construction. Most commonly, the term is used to describe a farm vehicle that provides the power and traction to mechanize agricultural tasks, especially (and originally) tillage, but nowadays a great variety of tasks.

A backhoe—also called rear actor or back actor—is a type of excavating equipment, or digger, consisting of a digging bucket on the end of a two-part articulated arm. It is typically mounted on the back of a tractor or front loader, the latter forming a "backhoe loader" (a US term, but known as a "JCB" in Ireland and the UK).

A powerful motor vehicle with large rear wheels, used chiefly on farms for hauling equipment and trailers.

A mechanical excavator whose bucket is attached by a hinge to a two-part arm and is drawn backward to the machine when in operation.

A vehicle having a powerful gasoline or diesel motor and usually large, heavily treaded rear tires, used especially for pulling farm implements or machinery.

A piece of excavating equipment consisting of a digging bucket or scoop on the end of an articulated arm, drawn backwards to move earth. Used in excavator/digger and backhoe tractors.

A truck having a cab and no body, used for pulling large vehicles such as vans or trailers.

A multi-purpose tractor with a front-mounted loading bucket and a rear-mounted digging bucket. The tractor combines a front-end loader/loader and an excavator/digger.

An airplane propeller mounted in front of the supporting surfaces.

To excavate using such equipment.

An airplane having such a propeller.

An excavator whose shovel bucket is attached to a hinged boom and is drawn backward to move earth

A toothed mechanism that automatically advances perforated continuous-form paper through a computer printer.

(agriculture) A vehicle used in farms e.g. for pulling farm equipment and preparing the fields.

(agriculture) A movable coop without a floor to allow for free ranging.

(US) A truck (or lorry) for pulling a semi-trailer or trailer.

Any piece of machinery that pulls something.

(aviation) An aeroplane where the propeller is located in front of the fuselage.

A British Rail Class 37 locomotive.

(archaic) A metal rod used in tractoration, or Perkinism.

To prepare (land) with a tractor.

To move with a tractor beam.

To treat by means of tractoration, or Perkinism.

That which draws, or is used for drawing.

Two small, pointed rods of metal, formerly used in the treatment called Perkinism.

A motor vehicle with a powerful engine and large wheels, used to pull farm equipment such as plows, harvesting machinery, etc., over farm land. Smaller forms of farm tractor are completely open, with only a seat for the driver.

A motor vehicle with a driver's cab and a powerful engine, fitted with a coupling at the rear, and designed to pull a large trailer or semi-trailer on the open highway; - called also truck tractor. The combination of such a tractor with its trailer is called a tractor-trailer, and is a common form of truck used for commercial shipping of freight.

A propeller screw placed in front of the supporting planes of an aëroplane instead of behind them, so that it exerts a pull instead of a push; - called also Tractor screw and Tractor propeller.

An airplane having one or more tractor propellers; - called also tractor airplane.

A wheeled vehicle with large wheels; used in farming and other applications

A truck that has a cab but no body; used for pulling large trailers or vans