noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   One who, or that which, retracts.
2. 2
   surgical instrument that holds back the edges of a surgical incision wordnet
3. 3
   In breech-loading firearms, a device for withdrawing a cartridge shell from the barrel.
4. 4
   A chess puzzle in which a number of moves are retracted and the solver is challenged to reach an alternate outcome.
5. 5
   A surgical instrument used to hold apart the edges of an incision or wound.

Show 2 more definitions

6. 6
   A bandage to protect soft parts of the body from injury by a surgical saw.
7. 7
   A muscle serving to draw in any part.

Etymology

From retract + -or.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.