• IPA: /ɹəˈtɹiːt/

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: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by 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 [...] In Three Volumes, 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.

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

4. (rare and obsolete, euphemism) A peaceful, quiet place in which to urinate and defecate: an outhouse; a lavatory.
5. A period of retirement, seclusion, or solitude.
6. A period of meditation, prayer or study.
7. Withdrawal by military force from a dangerous position or from enemy attack.
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.

• retract

• French: retraite
• German: Rückzug
• Italian: ritirata, arretramento, ripiegamento
• Portuguese: retirada
• Russian: отступле́ние
• Spanish: retirarse

• French: retraite
• Italian: ritirata, ritiro
• Portuguese: retiro
• Spanish: retiro

• French: retraite
• Portuguese: retiro
• Spanish: retiro

retreat (retreats, present participle retreating; past and past participle retreated) (intransitive)

1. To withdraw from a position, go back.
2. (of a glacier) To shrink back due to generally warmer temperatures.
3. To slope back.

   a retreating forehead

• French: retirer, replier, battre en retraite
• German: zurückziehen
• Italian: ritirarsi, ripiegare, battere in ritirata, indietreggiare, retrocedere, arretrare
• Portuguese: retirar, retirar-se
• Russian: отступа́ть
• Spanish: retirarse

• IPA: /ɹiːˈtɹiːt/

retreat (retreats, present participle retreating; past and past participle retreated)

1. Alternative spelling of re-treat#English|re-treat