retreat
ree treet
- n (military) withdrawal of troops to a more favorable position to escape the enemy's superior forces or after a defeat
the disorderly retreat of French troops - n a place of privacy; a place affording peace and quiet
- n (military) a signal to begin a withdrawal from a dangerous position
- n (military) a bugle call signaling the lowering of the flag at sunset
- n an area where you can be alone
- n withdrawal for prayer and study and meditation
the religious retreat is a form of vacation activity - n the act of withdrawing or going backward (especially to escape something hazardous or unpleasant)
- v pull back or move away or backward
- v move away, as for privacy
The Pope retreats to Castelgondolfo every summer - v move back
- v make a retreat from an earlier commitment or activity
- Adolf Hitler's armies in southern Russia were in full retreat last week.
- One morning last week the Russian state radio canceled its regular programs, and for the next three hours droned out details of a great Moscow retreat.
- Raider Louis Wolfson, who parlayed a Jacksonville junkyard into a $240 million empire and attempted to gain control of giant Montgomery Ward, sounded a general retreat last week.