retreat
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.
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.
Idioms about retreat
beat a retreat, to withdraw or retreat, especially hurriedly or in disgrace.
Origin of retreat
1synonym study For retreat
Other words for retreat
2 | departure, withdrawal |
3 | shelter |
8 | leave, pull back |
Opposites for retreat
Other words from retreat
- re·treat·al, adjective
- re·treat·er, noun
- re·treat·ive, adjective
Words that may be confused with retreat
- re-treat, retreat
Words Nearby retreat
How to use retreat in a sentence
My heart stopped as the fish owl pivoted and took to the air in retreat, but the weight of the noose carpet held and drew the bird softly back to ground.
The quest to snare—and save—the world’s largest owl | Jonathan Slaght | August 28, 2020 | Popular-ScienceLawful hacking and cyber-espionage have grown enormously as a business over the past decade, with no signs of retreat.
Inside NSO, Israel’s billion-dollar spyware giant | Tate Ryan-Mosley | August 19, 2020 | MIT Technology ReviewSo far, BDG has created these event kits for its virtual yoga retreat in May that was produced for advertiser Nature’s Way, and for its Self-Care Saturday event this past Saturday that was built with advertiser lip filler brand Restylane Kysse.
How a new order of commerce is increasingly coming to the rescue for publishers with advertising challenges | Kayleigh Barber | August 17, 2020 | DigidayBustle planned to host an afternoon-long yoga retreat in Austin, Texas this spring for vitamin and supplement brand Nature’s Way.
How publishers are selling advertisers on virtual events | Kayleigh Barber | July 17, 2020 | DigidayThe researchers also found that as the soapy film retreats, soap molecules pack together more tightly.
Soap bubbles’ ‘pop’ reveals the physics of the bursts | Emily Conover | April 1, 2020 | Science News For Students
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 | THE DAILY BEASTFinally, a squad of reinforcements arrived and they were able to retreat.
Alison, meanwhile, had gone to a yoga retreat with her hippy-dippy mother.
What On Earth Is ‘The Affair’ About? Season One’s Baffling Finale | Tim Teeman | December 22, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTOver 250 were killed before Stirling ordered the final retreat and surrendered himself to the British.
The British Royals Reinvade Brooklyn: William and Kate Come Watch Basketball on Historic Battle Site | Justin Jones | December 6, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe law professor, Benny Tai, urged the students to “retreat and take the spirit of the Umbrella Movement into the community.”
The engineer officer charged with preparing the line of retreat reported that the one bridge across the Elster was not sufficient.
Napoleon's Marshals | R. P. Dunn-PattisonWhen this last shred of hope was gone, the Brigadier reluctantly gave the order to retreat.
The Red Year | Louis TracyOrlean was regarded as a fairly attractive woman; but her chin, unlike that of the one before him, was inclined to retreat.
The Homesteader | Oscar MicheauxIn the retreat across the Niemen he proved himself absolutely incapable of reorganising a beaten force.
Napoleon's Marshals | R. P. Dunn-PattisonAt least, his way of retreat would have remained open, and he might have gone, to return another day with force at his heels.
St. Martin's Summer | Rafael Sabatini
British Dictionary definitions for retreat
/ (rɪˈtriːt) /
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
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
Origin of retreat
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with retreat
see beat a retreat.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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