retract

English

Etymology

From Latin retractum, past participle of retrahere.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA: /rəˈtrækt/
• Rhymes: -ækt

Verb

retract (third-person singular simple present retracts, present participle retracting, simple past and past participle retracted)

1. (transitive) To pull back inside.

   An airplane retracts its wheels for flight.

2. (intransitive) To draw back; to draw up.

   Muscles retract after amputation.

3. (transitive) To take back or withdraw something one has said.

   I retract all the accusations I made about the senator and sincerely hope he won't sue me.

   • Granville

     She will, and she will not; she grants, denies, / Consents, retracts, advances, and then flies.

Synonyms

• take back
• withcall
• withdraw

Translations

to pull back inside

• Czech: vtáhnout (cs), zatáhnout (cs)
• Finnish: vetää sisään (fi)

• Greek: συμπτύσσω (el) (symptýsso)
• Romanian: retrage (ro), retracta (ro)

to take back or withdraw something one has said

• Czech: vzít zpět (cs), odvolat (cs)
• Finnish: vetää pois (fi)
• Greek: ανακαλώ (el) (anakaló), αναιρώ (el) (anairó)

• Romanian: retracta (ro), dezice (ro)
• Spanish: retractar (es)

See also

• unsay
• unspeak