retreat

[ ri-treet ]

/ rɪˈtrit /

|||

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR retreat ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the forced or strategic withdrawal of an army or an armed force before an enemy, or the withdrawing of a naval force from action.

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

a place of refuge, seclusion, or privacy: The library was his retreat.

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)

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

to make a retreat: The army retreated.

to slope backward; recede: a retreating chin.

to draw or lead back.

Nearby words

retractor, retrain, retrainee, retral, retread, retreat, retreat from reality, retreatant, retreatism, retrench, retrenchment

Idioms

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

Origin of retreat

1300–50; (noun) Middle English retret < Old French, variant of retrait, noun use of past participle of retraire to draw back < Latin retrahere (re- re- + trahere to draw; see retract¹); (v.) late Middle English retreten < Middle French retraitier < Latin retractāre to retract²

SYNONYMS FOR retreat

2 departure, withdrawal.

3 shelter.

8 leave, pull back.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR retreat ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR retreat

1, 8, 9 advance.

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Related forms

re·treat·al, adjectivere·treat·er, nounre·treat·ive, adjective

Can be confused

re-treat retreat

Synonym study

8. See depart.

Definition for retreat (2 of 2)

re-treat

[ ree-treet ]

/ riˈtrit /

verb (used with or without object)

to treat again.

Origin of re-treat

First recorded in 1880–85; re- + treat

Can be confused

re-treat retreat

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for retreat

She completed a yoga teacher-training program and, in the spring of 2008, went on a retreat in Peru to study with shamans.
How Taryn Toomey’s ‘The Class’ Became New York’s Latest Fitness Craze|Lizzie Crocker|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Finally, a squad of reinforcements arrived and they were able to retreat.
The Brothers Who Ambushed ISIS|Mohammed A. Salih|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The law professor, Benny Tai, urged the students to “retreat and take the spirit of the Umbrella Movement into the community.”
The Monuments Men of Occupy Hong Kong|Brendon Hong|December 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
With falling temperatures, retreat has become a much more attractive option than before.
The Monuments Men of Occupy Hong Kong|Brendon Hong|December 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST

America, Stephens writes, is not necessarily in “decline” but rather “retreat.”
‘America in Retreat’: Why Neo-Isolationism Exploded Under Obama and What We Can Do About It|James Kirchick|December 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Prince John resumed his retreat from the lists, and the dispersion of the multitude became general.
Ivanhoe|Walter Scott
They seem to follow the sun in its advance and retreat; and to fly on the zephyr wing after an eternal spring.
Birds, Illustrated by Color Photography, Vol. II, No 3, September 1897|Various
It can readily be traced in its retreat and easily taken from the sand.
The World and Its People: Book VII|Anna B. Badlam
Well,” rejoined the Doctor, rising and striding toward a window, “a good general may order a retreat.
Dr. Sevier|George W. Cable
Finally the Confederate lines began to waver and give way, and the bugle sounded the retreat.
Brother Against Brother|John Roy Musick

British Dictionary definitions for retreat

retreat

/ (rɪˈtriːt) /

verb (mainly intr)

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

Word Origin for retreat

C14: from Old French retret, from retraire to withdraw, from Latin retrahere to pull back; see retract

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Idioms and Phrases with retreat

retreat

see beat a retreat.