retreat

English

Etymology 1

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɹɪˈtɹiːt/, /ɹəˈtɹiːt/, /ɹiˈtɹiːt/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iːt

Noun

retreat (plural retreats)

1. The act of pulling back or withdrawing, as from something dangerous, or unpleasant.
   • c. 1604–1605 (date written), William Shakespeare, “All’s Well, that Ends Well”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iii]:

     In a retreat he outruns any lackey.

   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.
   • 2024 September, Paul Graham, “Founder Mode”, in Essays‎^[1] (blog):

     For example, Steve Jobs used to run an annual retreat for what he considered the 100 most important people at Apple, and these were not the 100 people highest on the org chart.

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

• beat a retreat, beat a hasty retreat
• managed retreat
• Rural Retreat

Related terms

• retract

Translations

act of pulling back or withdrawing

• Arabic: تَرَاجُع m (tarājuʕ), اِنْسِحَاب m (insiḥāb)
• Armenian: նահանջ (hy) (nahanǰ)
• Azerbaijani: geriyə çəkilmə, geriçəkilmə
• Belarusian: адступле́нне n (adstupljénnje), адступле́ньне n (adstupljénʹnje), вы́вад (be) m (vývad) (withdrawal)
• Bulgarian: отстъпле́ние (bg) n (otstǎplénie)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 後退 / 后退 (zh) (hòutuì), 退卻 / 退却 (zh) (tuìquè), 撤退 (zh) (chètuì)

• Czech: ústup (cs) m
• Dutch: terugtocht (nl) m, aftocht (nl) m, terugtrekking (nl) f
• Finnish: perääntyminen (fi)
• French: retraite (fr) f
• German: Rückzug (de) m
• Greek: υποχώρηση (el) f (ypochórisi)
• Hungarian: visszavonulás (hu)
• Indonesian: mundur (id)
• Italian: ritirata (it) f, arretramento (it) m, ripiegamento (it) m
• Japanese: 後退 (ja) (こうたい, kōtai), 退却 (ja) (たいきゃく, taikyaku), 撤退 (ja) (てったい, tettai)
• Korean: 후퇴(後退) (ko) (hutoe), 퇴각(退却) (ko) (toegak), 철수(撤收) (ko) (cheolsu)
• Latin: recessus m
• Macedonian: повлекување n (povlekuvanje)
• Maori: taui, tauitanga
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: retrett m, tilbaketrekking m or f, tilbaketrekning m or f

  Nynorsk: retrett m, tilbaketrekking f

• Persian: عقب‌نشینی (fa) ('aqab-nešini)
• Polish: odwrót (pl) m, wycofanie (pl) n (withdrawal)
• Portuguese: retirada (pt) f
• Romanian: retragere (ro) f
• Russian: отступле́ние (ru) n (otstuplénije), вы́вод (ru) m (vývod) (withdrawal)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: повла́че̄ње n

  Roman: povláčēnje (sh) n

• Slovak: ústup m
• Slovene: umik m
• Spanish: retirada (es) f
• Tajik: ақибнишинӣ (aqibnišini)
• Turkish: geri çekilme
• Ukrainian: ві́дступ m (vídstup), ви́ведення n (vývedennja) (withdrawal)

peaceful, quiet place affording privacy or security

• Belarusian: прыту́лак m (prytúlak)
• Bulgarian: убе́жище (bg) n (ubéžište)
• Czech: útočiště (cs) n
• Finnish: turvapaikka (fi), piilopaikka (fi)
• French: retraite (fr) f
• Italian: ritiro (it) m, eremo (it) m
• Latin: latebra f
• Macedonian: прибе́жиште n (pribéžište)
• Maori: piringa, kuhunga
• Ottoman Turkish: زاویه (zâviye), قارش (karış)
• Portuguese: retiro (pt) m
• Russian: убе́жище (ru) n (ubéžišče)
• Scottish Gaelic: cuilidh f
• Spanish: retiro (es) m
• Ukrainian: приту́лок (uk) m (prytúlok)

peaceful, quiet place in which to urinate and defecate — see outhouse,‎ toilet

period of meditation, prayer, or study

• Bulgarian: уедине́ние (bg) n (uedinénie)
• Dutch: retraite (nl) c
• Estonian: retriit
• Finnish: vetäytyminen (fi)
• French: retraite (fr) f
• Hungarian: elvonulás (hu)
• Indonesian: retret (id), khalwat (id)
• Italian: ritiro (it) m
• Latvian: rekolekcija (lv) f
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: retrett m

  Nynorsk: retrett m

• Polish: rekolekcje (pl) f pl
• Portuguese: retiro (pt) m
• Russian: уедине́ние (ru) n (ujedinénije)
• Spanish: retiro (es)

Verb

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

• advance

Derived terms

• duty to retreat

Translations

retreat — see withdraw

to withdraw military forces

• Albanian: please add this translation if you can
• Arabic: تَرَاجَعَ (tarājaʕa)
• Armenian: նահանջել (hy) (nahanǰel)
• Azerbaijani: geri çəkilmək
• Belarusian: адступа́ць impf (adstupácʹ), адступі́ць pf (adstupícʹ)
• Bulgarian: отстъ́пвам (bg) impf (otstǎ́pvam), отстъ́пя pf (otstǎ́pja)
• Catalan: retrocedir (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 後退 / 后退 (zh) (hòutuì), 退卻 / 退却 (zh) (tuìquè)

• Czech: ustoupit pf, stáhnout se (cs) pf
• Dutch: zich terugtrekken (nl)
• Esperanto: please add this translation if you can
• Estonian: taanduma (et)
• Finnish: perääntyä (fi), vetäytyä (fi)
• French: se retirer (fr), se replier (fr), battre en retraite (fr)
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: sich zurückziehen (de), abziehen (de)
• Greek: αποτραβιέμαι (el) (apotraviémai)

  Ancient: ἀναχωρέω (anakhōréō)

• Hungarian: please add this translation if you can
• Icelandic: hörfa
• Irish: cúlaigh
• Italian: ritirarsi (it), ripiegare (it), battere in ritirata (it), indietreggiare (it), retrocedere (it), arretrare (it)
• Japanese: 退却する (ja) (たいきゃくする, taikyaku suru), 後退する (ja) (こうたいする, kōtai suru)
• Korean: 후퇴하다 (ko) (hutoehada)
• Latin: regredior, pedem referre
• Latvian: please add this translation if you can
• Lithuanian: please add this translation if you can
• Macedonian: се повлекува impf (se povlekuva), се повлече pf (se povleče)
• Maori: whakatahi, taui, paunu
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: retrettere

• Persian: عقب‌نشینی کردن ('aqab-nešini kardan)
• Polish: zarządzać odwrót impf, odstępować (pl) impf, odstąpić (pl) pf, wycofywać się (pl) impf, wycofać się (pl) pf
• Portuguese: retirar (pt), retirar-se
• Romanian: retrage (ro)
• Russian: отступа́ть (ru) impf (otstupátʹ), отступи́ть (ru) pf (otstupítʹ), ретирова́ться (ru) impf or pf (retirovátʹsja)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: по̀вӯћи се pf

  Roman: pòvūći se pf

• Slovak: ustúpiť pf, stiahnuť sa pf
• Slovene: umikati se impf, umakniti se pf
• Spanish: retirarse (es)
• Swedish: retirera (sv)
• Tajik: ақибнишинӣ кардан (aqibnišini kardan)
• Turkish: geri çekilmek (tr)
• Ukrainian: відступа́ти impf (vidstupáty), відступи́ти pf (vidstupýty)

Etymology 2

From re- +‎ treat.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɹiːˈtɹiːt/
• Rhymes: -iːt

Verb

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

1. Alternative spelling of re-treat

Further reading

• Retreat in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)

Anagrams

• treater, tree rat

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

Borrowed from English retreat. Doublet of retrett.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /rɪˈtriːt/

Noun

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

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

References

• “retreat” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
• “retreat” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

Borrowed from English retreat. Doublet of retrett.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /rɪˈtriːt/

Noun

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

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

References

• “retreat” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.