Wiktionary

retreat

English

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Etymology 1

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

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ɹɪˈtɹiːt/, /ɹəˈtɹiːt/, /ɹiˈtɹiːt/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -iːt

Noun

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retreat (plural retreats)

  1. The act of pulling back or withdrawing, as from something dangerous, or unpleasant.
    1. The act of reversing direction and receding from a forward position.
    2. (military) Withdrawal by a military force from a dangerous position or from enemy attack.
      The general opted for a swift retreat because he saw his troops were vastly outnumbered.
  2. A peaceful, quiet place affording privacy or security.
    • 1764, Horace Walpole, The Castle of Otranto:
      " […] But come, Lady, we are too near the mouth of the cavern; let us seek its inmost recesses. […] " "Though all your actions are noble, […] is it fitting that I should accompany you alone into these perplexed retreats? Should we be found together, what would a censorious world think of my conduct?"
    • 1891, Thomas Hardy, chapter IV, in Tess of the d’Urbervilles: A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented […], volume I, London: James R[ipley] Osgood, McIlvaine and Co., […], →OCLC, phase the first (The Maiden), pages 40–41:
      In a large bedroom upstairs, the window of which was thickly curtained with a great woollen shawl lately discarded by the landlady, Mrs. Rolliver, were gathered on this evening nearly a dozen persons, all seeking vinous bliss; all old inhabitants of the nearer end of Marlott, and frequenters of this retreat.
    • 1692, Roger L'Estrange, “Fable 100: An Old Man and a Lion”, in Fables of Aesop, page 115:
      ... he built his son a house of pleasure, on purpose to keep him out of harm's way; and spared neither art nor cost to make it a delicious retreat.
    • 1700, [John] Dryden, “The Flower and the Leaf: Or, The Lady in the Arbour. A Vision.”, in Fables Ancient and Modern; […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:
      That pleasing shade they sought, a soft retreat / From sudden April showers, a shelter from the heat.
  3. (rare and obsolete, euphemistic) A peaceful, quiet place in which to urinate and defecate: an outhouse; a lavatory.
  4. A period of retirement, seclusion, or solitude.
    We both need a week retreat after those two stressful years working in the city.
  5. A period of meditation, prayer or study.
  6. (military) A signal for a military withdrawal.
  7. (military) A bugle call or drumbeat signaling the lowering of the flag at sunset, as on a military base.
    • 1898, Kate Douglas Wiggin, chapter 8, in Penelope’s Progress […], Boston, Mass., New York, N.Y.: Houghton, Mifflin and Company […], →OCLC:
      to-morrow the Royal Standard will be hoisted at Edinburgh Castle from reveille to retreat.
  8. (military) A military ceremony to lower the flag.
  9. (chess) The move of a piece from a threatened position.
Derived terms
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Translations
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peaceful, quiet place in which to urinate and defecate — see outhouse,‎ toilet

Verb

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retreat (third-person singular simple present retreats, present participle retreating, simple past and past participle retreated) (intransitive)

  1. To withdraw from a position, go back.
    1. To withdraw military forces
      The general refused to order his soldiers to retreat, despite being vastly outnumbered.
  2. To shrink back due to generally warmer temperatures. (of a glacier)
  3. To slope back.
    • 1898, H.G. Wells, The War of the Worlds, London: William Heinemann, page 111:
      His face was a fair weakness, his chin retreated, and his hair lay in crisp, almost flaxen curls on his low forehead; his eyes were rather large, pale blue, and blankly staring.
    a retreating forehead
Antonyms
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Derived terms
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Translations
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retreat — see withdraw

Etymology 2

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re- +‎ treat

Pronunciation

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Verb

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retreat (third-person singular simple present retreats, present participle retreating, simple past and past participle retreated)

  1. Alternative spelling of re-treat

Further reading

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Anagrams

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Norwegian Bokmål

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Etymology

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Borrowed from English retreat. Doublet of retrett.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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retreat m (definite singular retreaten, indefinite plural retreater, definite plural retreatene)

  1. a period of meditation, prayer or study; retreat
  2. a location for such activities

Usage notes

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  • Prior to the 2005 spelling reform, this noun was considered grammatically neuter.

References

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Norwegian Nynorsk

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Etymology

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Borrowed from English retreat. Doublet of retrett.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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retreat m (definite singular retreaten, indefinite plural retreatar, definite plural retreatane)

  1. a period of meditation, prayer or study; retreat
  2. a location for such activities

Usage notes

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  • Prior to a revision made alongside the 2005 Bokmål spelling reform, this noun was considered grammatically neuter.

References

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