RETREATING

Verb

retreating

present participle of retreat

Noun

retreating (plural retreatings)

The act of moving back from something; a retreat.

Source: Wiktionary


RETREAT

Re*treat", n. Etym: [F. retraite, fr. retraire to withdraw, L. retrahere; pref. re- re- + trahere to draw. See Trace, and cf. Retract, Retrace.]

1. The act of retiring or withdrawing one's self, especially from what is dangerous or disagreeable. In a retreat he oShak.

2. The place to which anyone retires; a place or privacy or safety; a refuge; an asylum. He built his son a house of pleasure, and spared no cost to make a delicious retreat. L'Estrange. That pleasing shade they sought, a soft retreat From sudden April showers, a shelter from the heat. Dryden.

3. (Mil. & Naval.) (a) The retiring of an army or body of men from the face of an enemy, or from any ground occupied to a greater distance from the enemy, or from an advanced position. (b) The withdrawing of a ship or fleet from an enemy for the purpose of avoiding an engagement or escaping after defeat. (c) A signal given in the army or navy, by the beat of a drum or the sounding of trumpet or bugle, at sunset (when the roll is called), or for retiring from action.

Note: A retreat is properly an orderly march, in which circumstance it differs from a flight.

4. (Eccl.) (a) A special season of solitude and silence to engage in religious exercises. (b) A period of several days of withdrawal from society to a religious house for exclusive occupation in the duties of devotion; as, to appoint or observe a retreat.

Syn.

– Retirement; departure; withdrawment; seclusion; solitude; privacy; asylum; shelter; refuge.

Re*treat", v. i. [imp. & p. p. Retreated; p. pr. & vb. n. Retreating.]

Definition: To make a retreat; to retire from any position or place; to withdraw; as, the defeated army retreated from the field. The rapid currents drive Towards the retreating sea their furious tide. Milton.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



RESET




Word of the Day

9 July 2024

DRAGNET

(noun) a system of coordinated measures for apprehending (criminals or other individuals); “caught in the police dragnet”


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Coffee Trivia

The earliest credible evidence of coffee-drinking as the modern beverage appeared in modern-day Yemen. In the middle of the 15th century in Sufi shrines where coffee seeds were first roasted and brewed for drinking. The Yemenis procured the coffee beans from the Ethiopian Highlands.

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