retreat
verb/rɪˈtriːt/
/rɪˈtriːt/
Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they retreat | /rɪˈtriːt/ /rɪˈtriːt/ |
| he / she / it retreats | /rɪˈtriːts/ /rɪˈtriːts/ |
| past simple retreated | /rɪˈtriːtɪd/ /rɪˈtriːtɪd/ |
| past participle retreated | /rɪˈtriːtɪd/ /rɪˈtriːtɪd/ |
| -ing form retreating | /rɪˈtriːtɪŋ/ /rɪˈtriːtɪŋ/ |
- [intransitive] to move away from a place or an enemy because you are in danger or because you have been defeated
- The army was forced to retreat after suffering heavy losses.
- We retreated back down the mountain.
- They retreated to a safe distance from the fighting.
Extra ExamplesTopics War and conflictc1- The army has been ordered to retreat.
- They retreated before the Americans.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- hastily
- quickly
- rapidly
- …
- try to
- order somebody to
- before
- behind
- down
- …
- [intransitive] to move away or back synonym recede
- He watched her retreating figure.
- The flood waters slowly retreated.
Extra Examples- Sandy retreated slowly, wary of what the man might do.
- I heard her footsteps retreat down the hall.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- hastily
- quickly
- rapidly
- …
- try to
- order somebody to
- before
- behind
- down
- …
- [intransitive] (+ adv./prep.) to escape to a place that is quieter or safer synonym retire
- Bored with the conversation, she retreated to her bedroom.
- (figurative) He retreated into a world of fantasy.
Extra Examples- He retreated hastily back to his car.
- He retreated behind the table.
- She retreated from the busy office to her own room.
- He retreated into his own world.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- hastily
- quickly
- rapidly
- …
- try to
- order somebody to
- before
- behind
- down
- …
- [intransitive] + adv./prep. to change your mind about something because of criticism or because a situation has become too difficult synonym back off (from something)
- The government had retreated from its pledge to reduce class sizes.
- He told them not to retreat in the face of opposition from the public.
- He retreated in the face of strong opposition.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- hastily
- quickly
- rapidly
- …
- try to
- order somebody to
- before
- behind
- down
- …
- [intransitive] + noun to lose value
- Share prices retreated 45p to 538p.
from danger/defeat
move away/back
to quiet place
change decision
finance
Word Originlate Middle English: from Old French retret (noun), retraiter (verb), from Latin retrahere ‘pull back’, from re- ‘back’ + trahere ‘drag’.
Check pronunciation:
retreat