Definition of "retreat"

retreat¹

/ɹɪˈtɹiːt/

noun
plural retreats
1. The act of pulling back or withdrawing, as from something dangerous, or unpleasant.
  Quotations
  In a retreat he outruns any lackey.
  c. 1604–1605 (date written), William Shakespeare, “All’s Well, that Ends Well”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, [Act IV, scene iii]
2. The act of reversing direction and receding from a forward position.
3. A peaceful, quiet place affording privacy or security.
  Quotations
  " […] But come, Lady, we are too near the mouth of the cavern; let us seek its inmost recesses. […] " "Though all your actions are noble, […] is it fitting that I should accompany you alone into these perplexed retreats? Should we be found together, what would a censorious world think of my conduct?"
  1764, Horace Walpole, The Castle of Otranto
  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.
  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., […], phase the first (The Maiden), pages 40–41
  ... 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.
  1692, Roger L'Estrange, “Fable 100: An Old Man and a Lion”, in Fables of Aesop, page 115
  That pleasing shade they sought, a soft retreat / From sudden April showers, a shelter from the heat.
  1700, [John] Dryden, “The Flower and the Leaf: Or, The Lady in the Arbour. A Vision.”, in Fables Ancient and Modern; […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […]
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.
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.
verb
third-person singular simple present retreats, present participle retreating, simple past and past participle retreated
1. To withdraw from a position, go back.
  1. To withdraw military forces
2. To shrink back due to generally warmer temperatures. (of a glacier)
3. To slope back.
  Quotations
  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.
  1898, H.G. Wells, The War of the Worlds, London: William Heinemann, page 111

retreat²

/ɹiːˈtɹiːt/

verb
third-person singular simple present retreats, present participle retreating, simple past and past participle retreated
1. Alternative spelling of re-treat

Definition of "retreat"

retreat1

noun

Quotations

Quotations

verb

Quotations

retreat2

verb

retreat¹

retreat²