retreat en · NOUN · etymology 1
Pronunciation
Etymology
From Middle English retret, from Old French retrait or retret, from Latin retractus, from retraho. Doublet of retract, retrait, and ritratto.
Meanings
-
The act of pulling back or withdrawing, as from something dangerous, or unpleasant.
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, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iii]:
- The act of pulling back or withdrawing, as from something dangerous, or unpleasant. ▸ The act of reversing direction and receding from a forward position.
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The act of pulling back or withdrawing, as from something dangerous, or unpleasant. ▸ Withdrawal by a military force from a dangerous position or from enemy attack.
The general opted for a swift retreat because he saw his troops were vastly outnumbered.
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A peaceful, quiet place affording privacy or security.
a mountain retreat
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, […], →OCLC:When Herbert Kochta first thought about designing a five-star alpine hotel just outside the Bavarian town of Berchtesgaden, a mere 300 yards from the ruins of the Berghof, Adolf Hitler's mountain retreat, the veteran Munich architect knew he could conceptualize a hotel on a hill in either of two ways.
2005 April 14, Timothy W. Ryback, “The Hitler Shrine”, in The Atlantic, →ISSN:"[…] 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 December 24 (indicated as 1765), Onuphrio Muralto, translated by William Marshal [pseudonyms; Horace Walpole], The Castle of Otranto, […], London: […] Tho[mas] Lownds […], →OCLC: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., […], →OCLC, 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, “[The Fables of Æsop, &c.] Fab[le] 100. An Old Man and a Lion.”, in Fables, of Æsop and Other Eminent Mythologists: […], London: […] R[ichard] Sare, […], →OCLC, page 94:
- (euphemistic, obsolete, rare) A peaceful, quiet place in which to urinate and defecate: an outhouse; a lavatory.
-
A period of retirement, seclusion, or solitude, especially for meditation, prayer, or study.
We both need a week retreat after those two stressful years working in the city.
Obviously she is trying to blend in at the über–bachelor party that is the GoJo corporate retreat in Norway.
2023 April 24, Spencer Kornhaber, “Welcome to the Creepiest Corporate Retreat Ever”, in The Atlantic:For example, Steve Jobs used to run an annual retreat for what he considered the 100 most important people at Apple, and these were not the 100 people highest on the org chart.
2024 September 14, Paul Graham, “Founder Mode”, in Essays (blog):a Buddhist retreat
a company retreat
- A signal for a military withdrawal.
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A bugle call or drumbeat signaling the lowering of the flag at sunset, as on a military base.
to-morrow the Royal Standard will be hoisted at Edinburgh Castle from reveille to retreat.
1898, Kate Douglas Wiggin, chapter 8, in Penelope’s Progress […], Boston, Mass.; New York, N.Y.: Houghton, Mifflin and Company […], →OCLC:
- A military ceremony to lower the flag.
- The move of a piece from a threatened position.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| retreats | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
retreatal · reretreat · retreatant · counterretreat · in retreat · retreatism · managed retreat · retreatlike · retreatful · beat retreat · retreatist · beat a hasty retreat · Beat Retreat · beat a retreat · Rural Retreat
Relateds
Translations (94)
tr geri çekilme (act of pulling back or withdrawing) · ru вы́вод (act of pulling back or withdrawing) · de Rückzug (act of pulling back or withdrawing) · nn retrett (act of pulling back or withdrawing) · ru отступле́ние (act of pulling back or withdrawing) · bg отстъпле́ние (act of pulling back or withdrawing) · hu visszavonulás (act of pulling back or withdrawing) · pt retiro (peaceful, quiet place affording privacy or security) · fa عقبنشینی (act of pulling back or withdrawing) · nn retrett (period of meditation, prayer, or study) · sl umik (act of pulling back or withdrawing) · sh povláčēnje (act of pulling back or withdrawing) · pl wycofanie (act of pulling back or withdrawing) · fr retraite (peaceful, quiet place affording privacy or security) · nl terugtrekking (act of pulling back or withdrawing) · fr retraite (period of meditation, prayer, or study) · ko 철수 (act of pulling back or withdrawing) · ko 퇴각 (act of pulling back or withdrawing) · nb retrett (act of pulling back or withdrawing) · mk повлекување (act of pulling back or withdrawing) · az geriçəkilmə (act of pulling back or withdrawing) · be адступле́нне (act of pulling back or withdrawing) · it ritirata (act of pulling back or withdrawing) · eo retiriĝo (act of pulling back or withdrawing) · tg ақибнишинӣ (act of pulling back or withdrawing) · es retiro (peaceful, quiet place affording privacy or security) · cmn 退卻 /退却 (act of pulling back or withdrawing) · pt retirada (act of pulling back or withdrawing) · ja 撤退 (act of pulling back or withdrawing) · ko 후퇴 (act of pulling back or withdrawing) · id mundur (act of pulling back or withdrawing) · pl rekolekcje (period of meditation, prayer, or study) · mi kuhunga (peaceful, quiet place affording privacy or security) · fi perääntyminen (act of pulling back or withdrawing) · ota زاویه (peaceful, quiet place affording privacy or security) · es retiro (period of meditation, prayer, or study) · ar تَرَاجُع (act of pulling back or withdrawing) · cs ústup (act of pulling back or withdrawing) · es retirada (act of pulling back or withdrawing) · ja 退却 (act of pulling back or withdrawing) · sh повла́че̄ње (act of pulling back or withdrawing) · id khalwat (period of meditation, prayer, or study) · ru убе́жище (peaceful, quiet place affording privacy or security) · nb tilbaketrekking (act of pulling back or withdrawing) · et retriit (period of meditation, prayer, or study) · ota قارش (peaceful, quiet place affording privacy or security) · ja 後退 (act of pulling back or withdrawing) · ru уедине́ние (period of meditation, prayer, or study) · fi vetäytyminen (period of meditation, prayer, or study) · mi tauitanga (act of pulling back or withdrawing) · it eremo (peaceful, quiet place affording privacy or security) · uk приту́лок (peaceful, quiet place affording privacy or security) · mi piringa (peaceful, quiet place affording privacy or security) · uk ві́дступ (act of pulling back or withdrawing) · be адступле́ньне (act of pulling back or withdrawing) · pl odwrót (act of pulling back or withdrawing) · pt retiro (period of meditation, prayer, or study) · hy նահանջ (act of pulling back or withdrawing) · mk прибе́жиште (peaceful, quiet place affording privacy or security) · fi turvapaikka (peaceful, quiet place affording privacy or security) · fi piilopaikka (peaceful, quiet place affording privacy or security) · es repliegue (act of pulling back or withdrawing) · sk ústup (act of pulling back or withdrawing) · la recessus (act of pulling back or withdrawing) · gd cuilidh (peaceful, quiet place affording privacy or security) · bg убе́жище (peaceful, quiet place affording privacy or security) · bg уедине́ние (period of meditation, prayer, or study) · hu elvonulás (period of meditation, prayer, or study) · el υποχώρηση (act of pulling back or withdrawing) · it arretramento (act of pulling back or withdrawing) · it ritiro (period of meditation, prayer, or study) · uk ви́ведення (act of pulling back or withdrawing) · be прыту́лак (peaceful, quiet place affording privacy or security) · cmn 後退 /后退 (act of pulling back or withdrawing) · ro retragere (act of pulling back or withdrawing) · nl retraite (period of meditation, prayer, or study) · it ritiro (peaceful, quiet place affording privacy or security) · la latebra (peaceful, quiet place affording privacy or security) · az geriyə çəkilmə (act of pulling back or withdrawing) · nl terugtocht (act of pulling back or withdrawing) · fr retraite (act of pulling back or withdrawing) · ar اِنْسِحَاب (act of pulling back or withdrawing) · be вы́вад (act of pulling back or withdrawing) · mi taui (act of pulling back or withdrawing) · nb tilbaketrekning (act of pulling back or withdrawing) · nn tilbaketrekking (act of pulling back or withdrawing) · it ripiegamento (act of pulling back or withdrawing) · nl aftocht (act of pulling back or withdrawing) · cmn 撤退 (act of pulling back or withdrawing) · nb retrett (period of meditation, prayer, or study) · id retret (period of meditation, prayer, or study) · cs útočiště (peaceful, quiet place affording privacy or security) · cmn 靜修 /静修 (period of meditation, prayer, or study) · lv rekolekcija (period of meditation, prayer, or study)