retreat

American  

[ri-treet] / rɪˈtrit /

noun

retreats plural

1. 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

2. the act of withdrawing, as into safety or privacy; retirement; seclusion.

   Synonyms:

   withdrawal, departure

3. a place of refuge, seclusion, or privacy.

   The library was his retreat.

   Synonyms:

   shelter

4. an asylum, as for the insane.

5. a retirement or a period of retirement for religious exercises and meditation.

6. Military.

   1. a flag-lowering ceremony held at sunset on a military post.

   2. the bugle call or drumbeat played at this ceremony.

7. the recession of a surface, as a wall or panel, from another surface beside it.

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verb (used without object)

retreats, present (3rd person singular) retreated, past participle, past retreating present participle

1. to withdraw, retire, or draw back, especially for shelter or seclusion.

   Synonyms:

   leave

   Antonyms:

   advance, engage

2. to make a retreat.

   The army retreated.

   Antonyms:

   advance, engage

3. to slope backward; recede.

   a retreating chin.

4. to draw or lead back.

idioms

1. beat a retreat, to withdraw or retreat, especially hurriedly or in disgrace.

retreat British  

/ rɪˈtriːt /

verb

1. 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

2. to retire or withdraw, as to seclusion or shelter

3. (of a person's features) to slope back; recede

4. (tr) chess to move (a piece) back

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noun

1. the act of retreating or withdrawing

2. military

   1. a withdrawal or retirement in the face of the enemy

   2. a bugle call signifying withdrawal or retirement, esp (formerly) to within a defended fortification

3. retirement or seclusion

4. a place, such as a sanatorium or monastery, to which one may retire for refuge, quiet, etc

5. a period of seclusion, esp for religious contemplation

6. an institution, esp a private one, for the care and treatment of people who are mentally ill, infirm, elderly, etc

retreat More Idioms  

1. see beat a retreat.

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Synonym Usage

See depart.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• retreater
  noun
• retreatal
  adjective
• retreative
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• retreats
  plural

Participles

• retreating
  present
• retreated
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• retreat
  simple
• retreats
  simple
• have retreated
  perfect
• has retreated
  perfect
• am retreating
  progressive
• are retreating
  progressive
• is retreating
  progressive
• have been retreating
  perfect progressive
• has been retreating
  perfect progressive

Past

• retreated
  simple
• had retreated
  perfect
• was retreating
  progressive
• were retreating
  progressive
• had been retreating
  perfect progressive

Future

• will retreat
  simple
• will have retreated
  perfect
• will be retreating
  progressive
• will have been retreating
  perfect progressive

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

retreat retreats retreated retreating

Taipei and Bangkok fell, while Jakarta was also in retreat following the surprise resignation of Indonesian central bank boss Perry Warjiyo citing personal reasons.

From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026

But Paramount made a dramatic retreat Friday after two weeks of legal setbacks.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026

NEW DELHI—The leaders of India’s “Cockroach” protests said their supporters wouldn’t retreat even after an activist who galvanized the large-scale demonstrations ended a hunger strike on Friday after winning concessions from the government.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

While the property boasts far more outdoor space than their Beverly Hills abode, for those seeking a private, secluded retreat in California, the couple’s former Golden State dwelling could well be the perfect place.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026

Then they’d retreat to Jim’s apartment and talk some more.

From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French

But even that was better than sharing “fun facts” or participating in any of the other icebreakers that we associate with company retreats.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026

Buddhism-themed tourism is thriving and tens of thousands of locals and foreigners sign up every year for "temple stay" retreats where they eat simple monastic food, do chores and meditate.

From Barron's ● Jul. 7, 2026

To complete the trap, the spider wraps the cone with a thinner type of silk and quickly retreats upward.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 26, 2026

Surging artificial-intelligence spending and persistent inflation worries have fueled one of the fastest retreats for Wall Street’s biggest tech names in over a year, pushing a key “Magnificent Seven” fund into correction territory.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 23, 2026

With other kids around, he retreats into invisibility, keeping his head down as he makes his way inside, leaving me completely behind.

From "Every Day" by David Levithan

She said she felt self-conscious about her appearance post-surgery and retreated further from the public.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026

The metal likely found some relief as oil prices retreated, bond yields inched lower and the dollar softened, says Kudo.com’s Konstantinos Chrysikos in an email.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026

He got things wrong with the way we retreated after scoring and his substitutions did not help.

From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026

But yields retreated after Tuesday’s CPI report, and a separate report showing a surprising decline in producer prices.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 16, 2026

As their footsteps retreated, I sagged backward against the cool stone in relief, only to stand back up abruptly as something dug into my back.

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin

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

But De Ketelaere poked a toe out to knock the ball back to Vanaken, who skipped a shot from about 30 yards past a retreating Ream and into the vacant goal.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026

U.S. stocks were in the red, with the Nasdaq composite retreating the most after U.S. stocks closed out a blockbuster quarter with a bang.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026

Jake moved to stand over Miss Riley with a folded newspaper, but the angry bees had too many targets and gave up in confusion, retreating back up the mountain.

From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam

Related Words

• abandon
• back down
• back off
• backtrack
• depart
• escape
• evacuate
• fall back
• go
• go back
• hide
• leave
• pull out
• recede
• reel
• retire
• reverse
• shrink
• withdraw