retreat.
The act of pulling back or withdrawing, as from something dangerous, or unpleasant.
Meaning & usage
The act of pulling back or withdrawing, as from something dangerous, or unpleasant.
The act of pulling back or withdrawing, as from something dangerous, or unpleasant. The act of reversing direction and receding from a forward position.
The act of pulling back or withdrawing, as from something dangerous, or unpleasant. Withdrawal by a military force from a dangerous position or from enemy attack.
The general opted for a swift retreat because he saw his troops were vastly outnumbered.
A peaceful, quiet place affording privacy or security.
a mountain retreat
A peaceful, quiet place in which to urinate and defecate: an outhouse; a lavatory.
A period of retirement, seclusion, or solitude, especially for meditation, prayer, or study.
We both need a week retreat after those two stressful years working in the city.
a Buddhist retreat
A signal for a military withdrawal.
A bugle call or drumbeat signaling the lowering of the flag at sunset, as on a military base.
A military ceremony to lower the flag.
The move of a piece from a threatened position.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English retret, from Old French retrait or retret, from Latin retractus, from retraho. Doublet of retract, retrait, and ritratto.
To withdraw from a position, go back.
To withdraw from a position, go back. To withdraw military forces.
The general refused to order his soldiers to retreat, despite being vastly outnumbered.
To shrink back due to generally warmer temperatures. (of a glacier)
To slope back.
a retreating forehead
Where this word comes from
From Middle English retret, from Old French retrait or retret, from Latin retractus, from retraho. Doublet of retract, retrait, and ritratto.
Alternative form of re-treat.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Italic *wre- Latin re-der. Old French re-bor. Middle English re- English re- English treat English retreat From re- + treat.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.