Other forms: retreated, retreating, retreats
To retreat is to move back away from danger. Retreat to the ridge, the army retreated, forced to retreat.
It is the military term and carries no shame in itself — an orderly retreat is a skill. Figuratively it means to withdraw from a position or an argument: retreat from the promise. As a noun, a retreat is both the act of withdrawing and a quiet place to withdraw to: a country retreat, a writing retreat, a religious retreat. Beat a retreat means to leave quickly, from the drum signal that ordered one.
1verbretreatTo move back away from danger.
“The army retreated to the hills after losing the battle.”
synonyms: withdraw, fall back
2nounquietA quiet place to withdraw to, or a period spent there.
“The whole team went on a retreat and came back the same.”
Too few real examples of this word to estimate which sense is commonest.
retreat is a withdrawal.
Latin retrahere is re-, back, plus trahere, to draw — to draw back. Tractor, attract and treat are all the same verb, so a retreat is literally a pulling back.
Latin
retractus
Old French
retrait
Middle English
retret
English, today
retreat
From Middle English retret, from Old French retrait or retret, from Latin retractus, from retraho. a doublet of retract and retrait and ritratto.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA