retreat

Pluralretreats

Formsretreats, retreating, retreated

1. 1
   nouncountable or uncountable

   The pulling back of an army or other military force from a perilous position or in the face of an enemy attack.

   The army's retreat from the mountain pass left the valley exposed.

   Commanders called for a full retreat once supplies ran out.

   Similarwithdrawal, pullback, evacuation

   Oppositeadvance

   Note

   Armies give the word its most formal setting. Here it names a planned movement that keeps a force intact. When order and command collapse, the right word is rout instead. The adjectives usually say what kind of retreat it was, such as a swift retreat or a full retreat. It is typically something a commander opts for or calls once the odds turn, as when troops are vastly outnumbered.

2. 2
   nouncountable

   A period spent in seclusion or solitude away from everyday life, often devoted to prayer, meditation, or study.

   He spent a month-long retreat at the monastery in silent meditation.

   The writers booked a countryside retreat to focus on their work.

   Note

   Time set apart rather than a place, though the two blur, because a retreat is often named for who holds it or what it is for. Its range runs from the devotional to the professional: a Buddhist retreat, a company retreat. Spencer Kornhaber's 2023 piece on a "corporate retreat in Norway" shows the business end of that range.

3. 3
   verbintransitive

   To withdraw from a position and move back.

   The hikers retreated to lower ground when the storm rolled in.

   Faced with sharp criticism, the senator chose to retreat rather than argue.

   Similarwithdraw, retire

   Oppositeadvance

4. 4
   nouncountable

   A peaceful, quiet place that offers privacy or security.

   The garden became his retreat whenever work grew overwhelming.

   They built a small lakeside retreat far from the crowds.

   Similarhaven, refuge, sanctuary, hideaway

   Note

   Here retreat is a place rather than a movement, and older writers liked to say what it shelters you from, as in Dryden's "soft retreat / From sudden April showers" (1700). Today it most often has a noun in front, as in a mountain retreat or a lakeside retreat. It also takes adjectives of comfort like delicious, which Roger L'Estrange used in 1692 for a father's house of pleasure.

5. 5
   nouncountable

   A reversal of direction in which something moves back from an advanced position.

   The flood's gradual retreat revealed the damage left behind.

   Her retreat from the edge of the cliff came just in time.

   Similarwithdrawal, recession

   Oppositeadvance

6. 6
   nouncountable

   Withdrawal from a place, situation, or commitment, especially one that is dangerous or unpleasant.

   The company's retreat from the risky market reassured nervous investors.

   Her retreat into silence signaled she was done with the topic.

   Similarwithdrawal, pullback

   Oppositeadvance

   Note

   The core sense, and the one that shows the word's Latin roots: through Old French retrait from Latin retractus, which makes retreat a doublet of retract. Shakespeare already uses it for a hasty getaway ("in a retreat he outruns any lackey"). Today it pairs naturally with from and into: a retreat from a market, a retreat into silence.

7. 7
   verbintransitive

   Of military forces, to withdraw and fall back from an engagement.

   The regiment retreated in good order toward the river.

   Outnumbered, the defenders had to retreat before nightfall.

   Similarwithdraw, retire

   Oppositeadvance, attack

   Note

   Strictly intransitive: the soldiers retreat, and a commander orders them to retreat. A commander never retreats them. When you need a verb that takes the troops as its object, withdraw or pull back does that job. For the line between an orderly movement and a rout, see the military noun.

8. 8
   nouncountable

   A signal ordering a military force to withdraw.

   The commander ordered the retreat to be sounded across the lines.

   Over the roar of the guns, few of the infantry could hear the retreat.

   Note

   On the battlefield this signal was given by bugle or drum, so the verbs that go with it are sound and beat: a bugler sounds the retreat. Keep it apart from the sunset flag call, which shares the name but belongs to peacetime routine on a base. This one orders troops to pull back under pressure.

9. 9
   nouncountable

   A military ceremony held to lower the flag, typically at the end of the day.

   The retreat was held at sunset, with the band playing as the flag came down.

   Visitors stood at attention during the base's retreat.

10. 10
    nouncountable

    A bugle call or drumbeat sounded at sunset to mark the lowering of the flag, as on a military base.

    At sunset, the retreat sounded and everyone paused to face the flag.

    The bugler practiced the retreat until each note was clear.

    Note

    Peacetime's version of the call closes the military day, and it pairs with reveille, the call that opens it. Kate Douglas Wiggin writes in 1898 of a standard flying at Edinburgh Castle "from reveille to retreat." The word also covers the flag-lowering ceremony itself, but in this sense it means only the music: the bugle notes or drumbeat that mark the moment.

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