RETREAT | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary

Meaning of retreat in English

retreat
verb
uk
/rɪˈtriːt/ us
/rɪˈtriːt/

retreat verb (POSITION)

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C2 [ I often + adv/prep ]
to go away from a place or person in order to escape from fighting or danger:
Attacks by enemy aircraft forced the tanks to retreat (from the city).
When she came towards me shouting, I retreated (behind my desk).
Thesaurus: synonyms, antonyms, and examples
to go backwards
  • reverseThe road ahead was blocked by a tree so I had to reverse.
  • backI backed into the drive.
  • back upI backed up into an empty parking space.
  • retreatShe retreated hastily back up the stairs.
  • pull backUN peacekeepers have pulled back from the border.
  • withdrawThe British army withdrew from Dunkirk in 1940.
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C2 [ I ]
to go to a quiet safe place in order to avoid a difficult situation:
When he's done something wrong, he retreats to his bedroom.
More examplesFewer examples
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Responding to an attack
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

retreat verb (DECISION)

[ I often + adv/prep ]
to decide not to do something, or to stop believing something, because it causes too many problems:
The government is retreating from its promises.
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Changing your mind
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retreat verb (PRICE)

[ I ]
If a price retreats, it goes down after it has gone up:
Wheat prices retreated after a two-day increase.
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Becoming and making smaller or less
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retreat
noun
uk
/rɪˈtriːt/ us
/rɪˈtriːt/

retreat noun (POSITION)

C2 [ C usually singular, U ]
a move back by soldiers or an army, either because they have been defeated or in order to avoid fighting:
the retreat from Dunkirk
Enemy soldiers are now in (full) retreat.
C2 [ C ]
a private and safe place:
a country/mountain/lakeside retreat
[ C or U ]
a period of time used to pray and study quietly, or to think carefully, away from normal activities and duties:
We went on (a) retreat at/to a monastery in Wales.
More examplesFewer examples
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Responding to an attack
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

retreat noun (DECISION)

[ C ]
a change from previous beliefs or behaviour:
The professor's speech marked/signalled a retreat from his usual extreme views.
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Changing your mind
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retreat noun (PRICE)

[ S or U ]
a situation in which the price of something goes down:
Over the past few weeks we have seen the currency's big retreat from its historic high.
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Becoming and making smaller or less
See more results »
(Definition of retreat from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

retreat | American Dictionary

retreat
verb [ I ]
us
/rɪˈtrit/
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to move back and away from someone or something, esp. because you are frightened or want to be alone:
She burst into tears and retreated to the bedroom.
To retreat is also to go away from a person or place because you are unwilling to fight any more:
Under heavy fire, the soldiers retreated.
retreat
noun [ C/U ]
us
/rɪˈtrit/
the act of going away from a person or place because you are unwilling to fight any more or are frightened:
[ U ] Rebel soldiers were in (full) retreat.
A retreat is also a private and safe place where you can be alone.
(Definition of retreat from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

retreat | Business English

retreat
verb [ I ]
uk
/rɪˈtriːt/ us
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FINANCE, STOCK MARKET
to become lower in value or amount, especially after getting higher:
Wheat prices retreated after a two-day increase.
By the end of business, the dollar had retreated by a full percentage point against the euro.
retreat to sth Share prices retreated 28p to 721p.
retreat from sth Other high-tech stocks retreated from strong gains earlier in the week.
to stop doing something, because it causes too many problems:
retreat from sth The company retreated from the US market in the late 1990s.
retreat
noun [ S or U ]
uk
/rɪˈtriːt/ us
FINANCE, STOCK MARKET
a fall in the price, amount, etc. of something, especially after having been high:
a retreat from sth Over the past few weeks we have seen the currency's big retreat from its historic high.
The FTSE 100 was also in retreat as London traders responded to falls on Wall Street.
a decision not to do something you had planned to do, because it causes too many problems
(Definition of retreat from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of retreat

retreat
Global warming sparks scramble for black gold under retreating ice.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
Evolution of retreating subduction boundaries formed during continental collision.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
Their mood changed only after the governor - wi retreated into his palace.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
However, after contact with the mucus, the ants retreated and exhibited antennal cleaning, especially when contact with the nectary took place soon after mucus treatment.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
They can automate their response, as with a doomsday machine, or change their environment, as when troops burn their bridges to make retreats impossible.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
Prospective proponents of universal worker protection policy retreated, conceding business prerogatives in the labor market.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
In exploration, he advances, fixating the stimulus, just as he does if, after retreating, he regains courage and pursues the object.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
After this loss of honour (for such was the decree's real significance), conservative nobles retreated into passivity or departed altogether.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
To her, the increasingly guilty pleasure she took in retreating into her own imaginary world and characters was a form of false worship.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
Whenever it seems that a summatory point is going to be made, the author persistently retreats into jargon, loading his sentences with unnecessarily complex terminology.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
They believe that such terms can only stand for internal mechanisms; a behaviorist who uses them must therefore be retreating from behaviorism.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
Study courses and retreats were methods used to spread the word among a core of activists.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
As silence retreats, the sonic entity in our external world enters in and becomes part of the constant exchange inside us.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
The literature also indicates that the glaciers generally retreated during the first half of the nineteenth century.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
Middle-class residents were anxious to demarcate themselves from the working class, and sought to do so by retreating into private suburban domesticity.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
See all examples of retreat
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

Collocations with retreat

retreat

These are words often used in combination with retreat.

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glacial retreat
Interglacial episodes, or at least episodes of glacial retreat, are evidenced by interdigitating strata of warm, or nonglacial, facies.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
religious retreat
The format involves a number of individuals, who are not necessarily religious, spending a period of time in a place of religious retreat.
From
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
retreat centre
The retreat centre requested urgent medical assistance.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.
See all collocations with retreat
What is the pronunciation of retreat?
 
C2,C2,C2,C2

Translations of retreat

in Chinese (Traditional)
位置, 退卻, 撤退…
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in Chinese (Simplified)
位置, 退却, 撤退…
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in Spanish
batirse en retirada, retirada, retiro…
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in Portuguese
retirar-se, bater em retirada, retirada…
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in Turkish
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in Catalan
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in Hindi
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in Telugu
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in Italian
माघार घेणे, पळ काढणे, एक खाजगी सुरक्षित जागा…
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退却する, 撤退する, 退却…
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geri çekilmek, cephe hattından çekilmek, mücadeleden/şavaştan vazgeçmek…
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battre en retraite, se retirer, retraite [feminine]…
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retirar-se, retirada…
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zich terugtrekken, terugtocht, sein voor de aftocht…
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சண்டை அல்லது ஆபத்திலிருந்து தப்பிக்க ஒரு இடத்திலிருந்து அல்லது நபரை விட்டு விலகிச் செல்வது, கடினமான சூழ்நிலையைத் தவிர்ப்பதற்காக அமைதியான பாதுகாப்பான இடத்திற்குச் செல்ல வேண்டும், சிப்பாய்கள் அல்லது ஒரு இராணுவம்…
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(लड़ाई या खतरे से बचाव हेतु) पीछे हटना, (किसी कठिन परिस्थिति से बचने के लिए) एकांतवास या एकांत स्थान में जाना, (सैनिकों या सेना का) मोर्चा छोड़ना…
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પીછેહઠ, પાછળ હટવું, જવું…
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trække sig tilbage, retræte, tilbagetrækning…
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retirera, dra sig tillbaka, reträtt…
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berundur, mengundurkan diri, pengunduran…
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sich zurückziehen, der Rückzug, zum Rückzug blasen…
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trekke seg tilbake, gjøre retrett, trekke seg unna…
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پسپا ہونا, پیچھے ہٹنا, پناہ لینا…
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відходити, відступати, виходити…
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отступать, отступление, отход…
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పోరాటం లేదా ప్రమాదం నుండి తప్పించుకోవడానికి ఒక స్థలం నుండి లేదా వ్యక్తి నుండి దూరంగా వెళ్ళు, క్లిష్ట పరిస్థితిని నివారించడానికి నిశ్శబ్దంగా ఉండే సురక్షితమైన ప్రదేశానికి వెళ్ళు, తిరోగమనం / సైనికులు లేదా సైన్యం ఓడిపోయినందు వల్ల లేదా పోరాటం జరగకుండా ఉండడం కోసం తిరిగి వెనక్కు మళ్ళడం…
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يَتَراجَع, يَنْسَحِب…
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পিছিয়ে আসা, পিছু হটা, পশ্চাদপসরণ…
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ustoupit, stáhnout se, ústup…
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mundur, menyingkir, gerakan mundur…
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ล่าถอย, ถอนตัว, การล่าถอย…
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rút lui, lùi về, sự rút lui…
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wycofać się, ucieczka, odwrót…
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후퇴하다, 후퇴…
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ritirarsi, ritirata, ritiro…
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