English Explanatory Dictionary

retreat

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. The act of pulling back or withdrawing, as from something dangerous, or unpleasant.
  2. The act of reversing direction and receding from a forward position.
  3. Withdrawal by a military force from a dangerous position or from enemy attack.
  4. A peaceful, quiet place affording privacy or security.
  5. A peaceful, quiet place in which to urinate and defecate: an outhouse; a lavatory.
  6. A period of retirement, seclusion, or solitude, especially for meditation, prayer, or study.
  7. A signal for a military withdrawal.
  8. A bugle call or drumbeat signaling the lowering of the flag at sunset, as on a military base.
  9. A military ceremony to lower the flag.
  10. The move of a piece from a threatened position.
verb
  1. To withdraw from a position, go back.
  2. To withdraw military forces.
  3. To shrink back due to generally warmer temperatures. (of a glacier)
  4. To slope back.
verb
  1. Alternative form of re-treat.
name
  1. A locality in the Tamworth council area, north eastern New South Wales, Australia.
  2. A locality in George Town council area and the City of Launceston, northern Tasmania, Australia.

Pronunciation

/ɹɪˈtɹiːt/ /ɹəˈtɹiːt/ /ɹiˈtɹiːt/ en-us-retreat.ogg LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-retreat.wav /ɹiːˈtɹiːt/

Word forms

retreat retreats retreating retreated

Etymology

From Middle English retret, from Old French retrait or retret, from Latin retractus, from retraho. Doublet of retract, retrait, and ritratto.

Synonyms

back away back down balk beat a retreat bug out crawfish decline fall back draw back pull out recede regrade retire retreat retrograde revert roll back shrink sound a retreat turn tail withdraw

Antonyms

advance charge gain ground forge ahead lunge storm engage fight hold one's ground stand one's ground deadlock draw stand off tie

Related words

retract

Derived words

beat a hasty retreat beat a retreat beat retreat counterretreat in retreat managed retreat reretreat retreatal retreatant retreatful retreatism retreatist retreatlike Rural Retreat duty to retreat retreatingness unretreating

Translations

Arabic: تَرَاجُع Arabic: اِنْسِحَاب Armenian: նահանջ Azerbaijani: geriyə çəkilmə Azerbaijani: geriçəkilmə Belarusian: адступле́нне Belarusian: адступле́ньне Belarusian: вы́вад Bulgarian: отстъпле́ние Chinese Mandarin: 後退 /后退 Chinese Mandarin: 退卻 /退却 Chinese Mandarin: 撤退 Czech: ústup Dutch: terugtocht Dutch: aftocht Dutch: terugtrekking Esperanto: retiriĝo Finnish: perääntyminen French: retraite German: Rückzug Greek: υποχώρηση Hungarian: visszavonulás Indonesian: mundur Italian: ritirata Italian: arretramento Italian: ripiegamento Japanese: 後退 Japanese: 退却 Japanese: 撤退 Korean: 후퇴 Korean: 퇴각 Korean: 철수 Latin: recessus Macedonian: повлекување Māori: taui Māori: tauitanga Norwegian Bokmål: retrett Norwegian Bokmål: tilbaketrekking Norwegian Bokmål: tilbaketrekning Norwegian Nynorsk: retrett Norwegian Nynorsk: tilbaketrekking Persian: عقبنشینی Polish: odwrót Polish: wycofanie Portuguese: retirada Romanian: retragere Russian: отступле́ние Russian: вы́вод Serbo-Croatian: повла́че̄ње Serbo-Croatian: povláčēnje Slovak: ústup Slovene: umik Spanish: retirada Spanish: repliegue Tajik: ақибнишинӣ Turkish: geri çekilme Ukrainian: ві́дступ Ukrainian: ви́ведення
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
Back to search All on R Russian dictionary Dahl dictionary