retreat
Americannoun
-
the forced or strategic withdrawal of an army or an armed force before an enemy, or the withdrawing of a naval force from action.
- Antonyms:
- advance
-
the act of withdrawing, as into safety or privacy; retirement; seclusion.
- Synonyms:
- withdrawal, departure
-
a place of refuge, seclusion, or privacy.
The library was his retreat.
- Synonyms:
- shelter
-
an asylum, as for the insane.
-
a retirement or a period of retirement for religious exercises and meditation.
-
Military.
-
a flag-lowering ceremony held at sunset on a military post.
-
the bugle call or drumbeat played at this ceremony.
-
-
the recession of a surface, as a wall or panel, from another surface beside it.
verb (used without object)
idioms
verb
-
military to withdraw or retire in the face of or from action with an enemy, either due to defeat or in order to adopt a more favourable position
-
to retire or withdraw, as to seclusion or shelter
-
(of a person's features) to slope back; recede
-
(tr) chess to move (a piece) back
noun
-
the act of retreating or withdrawing
-
military
-
a withdrawal or retirement in the face of the enemy
-
a bugle call signifying withdrawal or retirement, esp (formerly) to within a defended fortification
-
-
retirement or seclusion
-
a place, such as a sanatorium or monastery, to which one may retire for refuge, quiet, etc
-
a period of seclusion, esp for religious contemplation
-
an institution, esp a private one, for the care and treatment of people who are mentally ill, infirm, elderly, etc
Related Words
See depart.
Other Word Forms
- retreatal adjective
- retreater noun
- retreative adjective
Etymology
Origin of retreat
First recorded in 1300–50; (for the noun) Middle English retret, from Old French, variant of retrait, noun use of past participle of retraire “to draw back,” from Latin retrahere ( retract 1 ); (for the verb) late Middle English retreten, from Middle French retraitier, from Latin retractāre “to reconsider, withdraw” ( retract 2 )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He said the winter should be a "wake-up call" to create more natural flood defences and wildlife-friendly escape routes - higher ground, connected green spaces and undisturbed vegetation can give animals places to retreat during storms.
From BBC
“Many times in Berkshire’s history, some observers have suggested that our substantial cash position signals a retreat from investing,” Abel wrote.
From MarketWatch
In protest, he jumped on stage, wiggled his bottom at the cameras, made a strange wafting gesture with his hands and beat a hasty retreat, pursued by Jackson's security team.
From BBC
Wilson’s retreat after the flameout of his notoriously ambitious “Smile” project made space for the other Beach Boys to shape the band’s music, as on 1970’s fondly remembered “Sunflower.”
From Los Angeles Times
Guilty and despondent, Donatello retreats to his empty family estate in Tuscany, where Kenyon tries to counsel him.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
