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Retreat   /ritrˈit/   Listen
Retreat

noun
1.
(military) withdrawal of troops to a more favorable position to escape the enemy's superior forces or after a defeat.
2.
A place of privacy; a place affording peace and quiet.
3.
(military) a signal to begin a withdrawal from a dangerous position.
4.
(military) a bugle call signaling the lowering of the flag at sunset.
5.
An area where you can be alone.  Synonym: hideaway.
6.
Withdrawal for prayer and study and meditation.  Synonym: retirement.
7.
The act of withdrawing or going backward (especially to escape something hazardous or unpleasant).
verb
(past & past part. retreated; pres. part. retreating)
1.
Pull back or move away or backward.  Synonyms: draw back, move back, pull away, pull back, recede, retire, withdraw.  "The limo pulled away from the curb"
2.
Move away, as for privacy.
3.
Move back.  Synonym: retrograde.
4.
Make a retreat from an earlier commitment or activity.  Synonyms: back away, back out, crawfish, crawfish out, pull back, pull in one's horns, withdraw.  "He backed out of his earlier promise" , "The aggressive investment company pulled in its horns"



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WordNet 3.0 © 2010 Princeton University








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"Retreat" Quotes from Famous Books



... says I to young Hogan, 'How goes the war between th' ac-cursed infidel an' th' dog iv a Christian?' I says. 'It goes bad,' he says. 'Th' Greeks won a thremenjous battle, killin' manny millions iv th' Moslem murdherers, but was obliged to retreat thirty-two miles in a gallop.' 'Is that so?' says I. 'Sure that seems to be their luck,' I says. 'Whin-iver they win, they lose; an', whin they lose, they lose,' I says. 'What ails thim?' I says. 'Is th' riferee again thim?' 'I can't make it out,' he says, while a tear sthud in his eye. 'Whin ...
— Mr. Dooley in Peace and in War • Finley Peter Dunne

... as irregularity introduced into the order, exposure to raking or enfilading cannonade, and the sacrifice of part or all of the artillery-fire of the assailant,—all which were incurred in approaching the enemy. The ship, or fleet, with the lee-gage could not attack; if it did not wish to retreat, its action was confined to the defensive, and to receiving battle on the enemy's terms. This disadvantage was compensated by the comparative ease of maintaining the order of battle undisturbed, and by a sustained artillery-fire to which the enemy ...
— The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660-1783 • A. T. Mahan

... precious now as offering a last means of escape should all else fail. The next fort, St. Louis, was but a few leagues up the river, and De la Noue had already sent a swift messenger to them with news of the danger. At least it would be a point on which they might retreat should the worst come to the worst. And that the worst might come to the worst was very evident to so experienced a woodsman as Amos Green. He had left Ephraim Savage snoring in a deep sleep upon the floor, ...
— The Refugees • Arthur Conan Doyle

... ever meet any one of them again, in these pages or in any other? Will the cracked Teacup hold together, or will he go to pieces, and find himself in that retreat where the owner of the terrible clock which drove him crazy is walking under the shelter of the high walls? Has the young Doctor's crown yet received the seal which is Nature's warrant of wisdom and proof of professional ...
— The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table • Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (The Physician and Poet not the Jurist)

... helpless and hopeless. Quirk ran up on the scaling-ladder to the fourth floor, hung it on the sill above, and got the boys and their sister down. But the flames burst from the floor below, cutting off their retreat. Quirk's captain had seen the danger, and shouted to him to turn back while it was yet time. But Quirk had no intention of turning back. He measured the distance and the risk with a look, saw the crowd tugging frantically at the life-net under the window, and ...
— Children of the Tenements • Jacob A. Riis


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