retreat
(military) withdrawal of troops to a more favorable position to escape the enemy's superior forces or after a defeat
How often you will meet it
Rank 2,660 of 71,295 words measured. It occurs 6,271 times across 175,112 chapters — 0.003% of every word in the library.
What it means
noun
- (military) withdrawal of troops to a more favorable position to escape the enemy's superior forces or after a defeat the disorderly retreat of French troops
- a place of privacy; a place affording peace and quiet
- (military) a signal to begin a withdrawal from a dangerous position
- (military) a bugle call signaling the lowering of the flag at sunset
- an area where you can be alone also: hideaway
- withdrawal for prayer and study and meditation also: retirement the religious retreat is a form of vacation activity
verb
- pull back or move away or backward also: withdraw, pull away, draw back, recede, pull back, retire The enemy withdrewThe limo pulled away from the curb
retreat in real books
Each sentence below was written by a published author and is taken from a different book in our library. Open one to read the passage it came from, with narration.
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I shut myself up in my skin, which soon became hard enough to serve for my retreat.
Piccolissima · Adélaïde de Montgolfier · Chapter 1
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But Braddell, less grieved by the loss than shocked by the scandal, was indefatigable in his researches,--he discovered her retreat.
Lucretia — Volume 06 · Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron Lytton · Chapter 1
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So humiliated were our enemies by the guffaws of the mob, that in gloomy ill-humor they beat a retreat to plot revenge.
The Satyricon — Volume 01: Introduction · 20-66 Petronius Arbiter · Chapter 1
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The visitor replied, that his young friend's retreat, by its very loftiness, was calculated to inspire any occupant with a room-attic affection.
Punchinello, Volume 1, No. 24, September 10, 1870 · Various · Chapter 1
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You might have thought this an enchanted valley, some wondrous retreat where a community of shadows and gleams lived a fantastic life.
The Fortune of the Rougons · Émile Zola · Chapter 1