Retract

Quick meaning: Retract is a verb meaning To pull (something) back or back inside.

Meaning

To pull (something) back or back inside.

More Meanings

1. To avert (one's eyes or a gaze).
2. To pronounce (a sound, especially a vowel) farther to the back of the vocal tract.
3. To hold back (something); to restrain.
4. (intransitive) To draw back; to draw up; to withdraw.
5. An act of retracting or withdrawing (a mistake, a statement, etc.); a retraction.
6. A pulling back, especially (military) of an army or military troops; a pull-back, a retreat; also, a signal for this to be done.
7. (group theory) 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.

Example Sentences

Muscles retract after amputation.

An airplane retracts its wheels for flight.

The bus was stuck at the stop as its wheelchair ramp wouldn’t retract after use.

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

Word Forms

• retracts
• retracting
• retracted
• retractest
• retractedst
• retracteth

Synonyms for retract

Depending on context, synonyms include pull back, retreat, unsay, unspeak, withcall, withdraw.

Antonyms for retract

Common opposites include affirm, confirm, maintain.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include recant, abjure, forswear, retraction, fallback, withdraw.

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