retreat
Americannoun
-
retreats
plural
-
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)
-
retreats,
present (3rd person singular)
-
retreated,
past participle, past
-
retreating
present participle
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
Synonym Usage
See depart.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
retreatsimple
-
retreatssimple
-
have retreatedperfect
-
has retreatedperfect
-
am retreatingprogressive
-
are retreatingprogressive
-
is retreatingprogressive
-
have been retreatingperfect progressive
-
has been retreatingperfect progressive
Past
-
retreatedsimple
-
had retreatedperfect
-
was retreatingprogressive
-
were retreatingprogressive
-
had been retreatingperfect progressive
Future
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 )
Explanation
The noun retreat means a place you can go to be alone, to get away from it all. A spot under a shady tree might be your favorite retreat from the sun, or your bedroom in the basement may serve as a retreat from your siblings. In the military sense, the noun retreat means the withdrawal of troops. The British retreat after the Battles of Lexington and Concord gave the American colonists an early taste of victory during the American Revolution. As a verb, retreat means to back out of something — like a lawyer who is forced to retreat from his argument when the opposing evidence is too convincing.
Vocabulary lists containing retreat
Vocabulary from the Introduction to "Reality is Broken" by Jane McGonigal
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"Of Mice and Men"
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"Marriage is a Private Affair" by Chinua Achebe
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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.
See Examples For:
Climate change and heat adaptation were on the agenda of a two-day cabinet retreat this week led by conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz, but no new measures were announced.
From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026
The horse jokes will retreat into the great digital stable where memes go when their moment has passed.
From Salon ● Aug. 27, 2026
Eastern time Friday morning from the Fed’s Jackson Hole summer retreat, located at a resort at the base of the Teton mountains in Wyoming.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 27, 2026
Their work is part of a broader effort to better understand the processes responsible for the calving and retreat of Arctic ice shelves.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 26, 2026
The eldest children thought it best to retreat into the homes beneath the stone temples of Ingapirca.
From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova
Experts say unseasonably warm weather patterns at the beginning of the year have driven rattlesnakes out of their winter retreats ahead of rattlesnake season in search of food and mates.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
The team is particularly interested in studying whether similar retreats could help people living with chronic pain, mood disorders, or conditions involving the immune system.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 9, 2026
“An enchanted hideaway in a coveted location with inviting outdoor retreats and peek a boo views to Downtown Los Angeles create an idyllic setting,” the listing added.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026
To make health retreats "easily achievable", Alex Hyde and Sam Carter-Smith hosted the OneRetreat Wellness in Birmingham, a one-day festival with exercise classes, sauna sessions and professional talks.
From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026
She turns her back on the startled slaver, who quickly retreats, and settles her gaze on me.
From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir
She retreated further from the public eye, avoiding press and coordinating donations through intermediaries.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
When these denials at last became untenable, they retreated to other lines of defense, such as libertarianism.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
As they retreated from music into grief, their Uncle Bob stepped in to help them finish what his brother Cecil had started — the Womack Sisters’ first album.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
Residents in Nagekeo, the area closest to the epicentre, raced for higher ground as the sea retreated earlier Saturday -- a possible sign of an approaching tsunami, AFP journalists witnessed.
From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026
Mr. Beiderman gave a gruff wave and retreated into his apartment.
From "The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street" by Karina Yan Glaser
Yet, every day ends with him retreating to his cave in exhaustion.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
That clemency was reciprocated when the retreating raiders were caught by determined Mohawk forces led by Lawrence, north of Lake Champlain.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
If this ice begins retreating quickly, the process can become difficult to stop or reverse.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 23, 2026
You could see Gauff ramp up the aggression in set two but, instead of retreating, Muchova managed to play even more shots inside the baseline in the third set.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
The Corporal looked beyond Jonathan to the house, then to the line of retreating men, then to the rising sun.
From "The Fighting Ground" by Avi
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.
