What does "retract" mean?
An act of retracting or withdrawing (a mistake, a statement, etc.); a retraction.
Retract
/ɹɪˈtɹækt/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: An act of retracting or withdrawing (a mistake, a statement, etc.); a retraction.
- Grammar: retract is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: draw back, recant, abandon, abjure.
- Useful contrasts: cantilevered, extended reach thrust, long thrust.
- Usage evidence: I would like to retract my previous statement.
How to use "retract"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "retract" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "retract" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "retract" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "retract" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
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- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
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Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "retract" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "draw back" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
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Final meaning check
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When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 An act of retracting or withdrawing (a mistake, a statement, etc.); a retraction. obsolete
"[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."
- 2 A pulling back, especially (military) of an army or military troops; a pull-back, a retreat; also, a signal for this to be done. obsolete
"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; […]"
- 3 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. obsolete
- 4 The target of a retraction. obsolete
- 5 Synonym of retreat (“an act of accidentally injuring a horse's foot by incorrectly nailing it during shoeing”). obsolete
Verb
- 1 To pull (something) back or back inside. transitive
"An airplane retracts its wheels for flight."
- 2 To cancel or take back (something, such as an edict or a favour or grant previously bestowed); to rescind, to revoke. obsolete, transitive
"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."
- 3 formally reject or disavow a formerly held belief, usually under pressure wordnet
- 4 To pull (something) back or back inside.; To draw (an extended body part) back into the body. specifically, transitive
"A cat can retract its claws."
- 5 To break or fail to keep (a promise, etc.); to renege. obsolete, transitive
Show 12 more definitions
- 6 pull inward or towards a center wordnet
- 7 To avert (one's eyes or a gaze). rare, transitive
- 8 To take back or withdraw (something that has been said or written); to disavow, to repudiate. obsolete, transitive
"I retract all the accusations I made about the senator and sincerely hope he won’t sue me."
- 9 use a surgical instrument to hold open (the edges of a wound or an organ) wordnet
- 10 To pronounce (a sound, especially a vowel) farther to the back of the vocal tract. transitive
- 11 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). obsolete, transitive
- 12 pull away from a source of disgust or fear wordnet
- 13 To hold back (something); to restrain. obsolete, transitive
- 14 To decline or fail to do something promised; to break one's word. intransitive, obsolete
- 15 To draw back; to draw up; to withdraw. intransitive
"The bus was stuck at the stop as its wheelchair ramp wouldn’t retract after use."
- 16 Of something said or written (such as published academic work): to take back or withdraw. intransitive, obsolete
""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 that he saw it wouldn't do.["]"
- 17 To change one's mind after declaring an intention to make a certain move. archaic, intransitive, obsolete
Antonyms
Example
"I would like to retract my previous statement."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "retract"?
Common synonyms include: draw back, recant, abandon, abjure, abjure, abolish.
How do you use "retract" in a sentence?
I would like to retract my previous statement.
How do you pronounce "retract"?
Pronounced /ɹɪˈtɹækt/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
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.
Etymology 2
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.
Etymology 3
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)).