retreat definition

English retreat definition

Etymology 1

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɹəˈtɹiːt/

• 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, William Shakespeare, “All’s VVell, that Ends VVell”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act IV, scene iii]:

     In a retreat he outruns any lackey.

2. The act of reversing direction and receding from a forward position.
3. A peaceful, quiet place affording privacy or security.
   • 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 13623666, 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", 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 228732415:

     That pleasing shade they sought, a soft retreat / From sudden April showers, a shelter from the heat.

4. (rare and obsolete, euphemistic) A peaceful, quiet place in which to urinate and defecate: an outhouse; a lavatory.
5. A period of retirement, seclusion, or solitude.

   We both need a week retreat after those two stressful years working in the city.

6. A period of meditation, prayer or study.
7. Withdrawal by 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.

8. A signal for a military withdrawal.
9. A bugle call or drumbeat signaling the lowering of the flag at sunset, as on a military base.
10. A military ceremony to lower the flag.
11. (chess) The move of a piece from a threatened position.

Derived terms

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

Related terms

• retract

Translations

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. (of a glacier) To shrink back due to generally warmer temperatures.
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

Translations

Etymology 2

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

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Norwegian Bokmål retreat definition

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).

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Norwegian Nynorsk retreat definition

Etymology

Borrowed from English retreat. Doublet of retrett.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /rɪˈtriːt/ (example of pronunciation)

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.