retract Definition
re·tract (ri trakt′)
transitive verb, intransitive verb
- to draw back or in to retract claws
- to withdraw or disavow (a statement, promise, offer, charge, etc.); recant
Etymology: ME retracten: in retractsense < L retractus, pp. of retrahere, to draw back < re-, back + trahere, to draw; in retractsense < MFr retracter < L retractare, to draw back, withdraw < re-, back + tractare, to pull, draw, freq. of trahere
retract Related Forms
re·tract′·abil′·ity noun
re·tract′·able adjective
re·trac′·tive adjective
retract Synonyms
retract
v.
retract Usage Examples
Object
- allegation: Following protests by the strikers, including a visit to the newspaper offices, the paper retracted the allegations.
- bid: For this reason they provide a simple way for bidders to retract a bid.
- statement: Nearly three years later, I feel obliged to retract that statement.
- roof: The Millenium Stadium, the UK's only stadium with a retracting roof, has a seating capacity of 74,500 for sports events.
- story: However, MTV was forced to retract the story, noting that Spiegel had failed to mention that he was joking.
- claim: In a correction issued on 12 March, the daily retracted the claim.
Used with why or when
- when: Let us not dwell long on the wide signaled but hastily retracted when the players started running for extras.
- what: I hope you do not retract what you then said.
Preposition: into
- body: Then, on entering water, the wheels are retracted into the body of the vehicle.
- fuselage: Nose gear has side by side wheels which retract rearwards into fuselage.
- head: Mouthparts highly modified for piercing and blood-sucking, and retracted into the head when not in use.
- nacelle: Main gear retract into the inboard engine nacelles Power Plant: Four 1,280 hp Rolls-Royce Merlin 24 twelve cylinder Vee liquid cooled engines.
Modifying Another Word
- since: Witness statements from her husband suggest otherwise, tho he has since retracted them.
- automatically: Once the blade is lifted from the cutting surface, the blade automatically retracts back into the handle.
- fully: Continue winding the jockey wheel to fully retract it into its outer case.
- quickly: The words triggered one of his hands to quickly retract into his wrist.
- immediately: This, of course, is a scandalous assertion in Scandinavia, and she was forced to retract immediately.
- completely: Live attached to solid structure, able to retract completely beneath the substrate.
Infinitive complement
Browse dictionary entries near retract
- ‹ retrace
- ‹ retouch
- ‹ retortion
- ‹ retort
- ‹ retorsion
- ‹ retool
- ‹ retook
- ‹ retiring
- ‹ retirement
- ‹ retiree
- retractile ›
- retraction ›
- retractor ›
- retral ›
- retread ›
- retreading ›
- retreat ›
- retreat (duty to), rule ›
- retrench ›
- retrenchment ›

