retract
English · Thesaurus
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retract¹
- /ɹɪˈtɹækt/ Australia, Canada, UK
- /ɹɪˈtɹækt/ US
- /ɹiˈtɹækt/ US
- /ɹəˈtɹækt/ US
Rhymes with -ækt
Where it comes from
From Late Middle English retracten, retract (“to absorb, draw in”), from Latin retractus (“withdrawn”), the perfect passive participle of Latin retrahō (“to draw or pull back, withdraw; to bring back; to compel to turn back; to recall; to get back, recover; to hold back, restrain, withhold; to remove, take away; to bring to light again; (Late Latin) to delay”), from re- (prefix meaning ‘again’) + trahō (“to drag, pull; to extract, withdraw”). Doublet of retreat.
verb retracts · retracting · retracted
-
To pull (something) back or back inside.
An airplane retracts its wheels for flight.
Similar: pull back
- To draw (an extended body part) back into the body. A cat can retract its claws.
- To avert (one's eyes or a gaze).
- To pronounce (a sound, especially a vowel) farther to the back of the vocal tract.
- To hold back (something); to restrain.
- To draw back; to draw up; to withdraw. The bus was stuck at the stop as its wheelchair ramp wouldn’t retract after use.
retract²
- /ɹɪˈtɹækt/ Australia, Canada, UK
- /ɹɪˈtɹækt/ US
- /ɹiˈtɹækt/ US
- /ɹəˈtɹækt/ US
Rhymes with -ækt
Where it comes from
Partly:
* from retract (verb) (see etymology 1); and
* from Late Latin retractus (“a pulling back, retreat; refuge”), from Latin retractus (“withdrawn”), the perfect passive participle of Latin retrahō (“to draw or pull back, withdraw; to bring back; to compel to turn back; to recall; to get back, recover; to hold back, restrain, withhold; to remove, take away; to bring to light again; (Late Latin) to delay”) (see etymology 1) + -tus (suffix forming action nouns from verbs). Doublet of retrait, retreat, and ritratto.
noun retracts
- An act of retracting or withdrawing (a mistake, a statement, etc.); a retraction. [T]hey began to finde fault with Poeſie, […] ſaying, that metaphors æmigmaticall, and covert words, yea and the ambiguities which Poetry uſeth, were but ſhifts, retracts, and evaſions to hide and cover all, whenſoever the events fell not out accordingly.
- A pulling back, especially (military) of an army or military troops; a pull-back, a retreat; also, a signal for this to be done. Theſe Græcians alſo that made the retract, aduiſed Darius [III] to retire his Armie into the plaine of Meſopotamia, to the end that Alexander being entred into thoſe large fields and great Champions, he might haue inuironed the Macedonians on all ſides with his multitude; […]
- A subgroup of a given group such that there is a surjective endomorphism from the ambient group to the subgroup which is constant on the subgroup; in this case the subgroup is a retract of the ambient group. In symbols: H in G is a retract of G if there exists a surjective homomorphism σ from G to H with σ|_H= operatorname id.
- The target of a retraction.
-
Synonym of retreat (“an act of accidentally injuring a horse's foot by incorrectly nailing it during shoeing”).
Similar: retreat
retract³
- /ɹɪˈtɹækt/ Australia, Canada, UK
- /ɹɪˈtɹækt/ US
- /ɹiˈtɹækt/ US
- /ɹəˈtɹækt/ US
Rhymes with -ækt
Where it comes from
From Middle French rétracter (“to annul; to reconsider; to withdraw”) (modern French rétracter (“to retract; to contract”)), and from its etymon Latin retractāre, the present active infinitive of retractō (“to retract, withdraw; to annul, revoke; to detract from; to undertake again; to reconsider; to remember; to decline, refuse”), from re- (prefix meaning ‘again’) + tractō (“to drag, haul, tug”) (from trahō (“to drag, pull; to extract, withdraw”) + -tō (frequentative suffix forming verbs)).
verb retracts · retracting · retracted · retract
- To cancel or take back (something, such as an edict or a favour or grant previously bestowed); to rescind, to revoke. Fill'd with the Satisfaction of their own diſcerning Faculties, they [natural history writers] paſs Judgment at firſt ſight; write on, and are above being ever brought to retract it.
- To break or fail to keep (a promise, etc.); to renege.
-
To take back or withdraw (something that has been said or written); to disavow, to repudiate.
I retract all the accusations I made about the senator and sincerely hope he won’t sue me.
Similar: unsay, unspeak, walk back, withcall, withdraw, abjure, backpedal, disavow, disown, eat one's words, recall, recant · Opposite: affirm, confirm, maintain
- Originally in chess and now in other games as well: to take back or undo (a move); specifically (card games) to take back or withdraw (a card which has been played).
- To decline or fail to do something promised; to break one's word.
- Of something said or written (such as published academic work): to take back or withdraw. "Challenger was the man who came with some cock-and-bull story from South America." / "What story?" / "Oh, it was rank nonsense about some queer animals he had discovered. I believe he has retracted since. Anyhow, he has suppressed it all. He gave an interview to Reuter's, and there was such a howl
- To change one's mind after declaring an intention to make a certain move.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: shrink back, recant, abjure, forswear, draw in, retraction, fallback, withdraw, retreat, backsliding, retrogression, regress, throwback, backtrack, regression, rollback
Translations
Every language
verb to pull (something) back or back inside
| Español | retraer |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 收起 shōuqǐ, 收回 shōuhuí |
| Português | retrair |
| Ελληνικά | συμπτύσσω symptýsso |
| Română | retracta, retrage |
| Русский | втягивать vtjagivatʹ, вбира́ть vbirátʹ |
verb to draw (an extended body part) back into the body
| 中文 | 縮 /缩 suō |
|---|
verb to pronounce (a sound, especially a vowel) farther to the back of the vocal tract
| 中文 | 後移 /后移 hòuyí |
|---|
verb to draw back; to draw up — see also withdraw
| Español | retraerse, remanir |
|---|---|
| Português | retrair |
| Français | rétracter |
verb to take back or withdraw (something that has been said or written) — see also disavow, repudiate
| Español | retractar, desdecirse de, cantar la palinodia |
|---|---|
| Português | retrair, retirar |
| Français | rétracter |
| Italiano | ritrattare |
| Ελληνικά | ανακαλώ anakaló |
| Română | retracta, dezice |
verb of something said or written: to take back or withdraw
| Español | retractarse, desdecirse |
|---|
Talk about this word "retract." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/retract. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. retract. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/retract "retract." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/retract.Cite this
@misc{retract_2026,
title = {retract},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/retract},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
