re·treat (r?-tr?t?)n.1. a. The act or process of moving back or away, especially from something hazardous, formidable, or unpleasant: made a retreat from hectic city life to the country.b. Withdrawal of a military force from a dangerous position or from an enemy attack.c. The process of receding from a position or of becoming smaller: glaciers in retreat from positions of advancement.d. The process of changing or undergoing change in one’s thinking or in a position: a leader’s retreat from political radicalism.e. A decline in value: a retreat in housing prices.2. A place affording peace, quiet, privacy, or security. See Synonyms at shelter.3. a. A period of seclusion, retirement, or solitude.b. A period of group withdrawal for prayer, meditation, or study: a religious retreat.4. a. The signal for a military withdrawal: Sound the retreat!b. A bugle call or drumbeat signaling the lowering of the flag at sunset, as on a military base.c. The military ceremony of lowering the flag.v. re·treat·ed, re·treat·ing, re·treats v.intr.1. To move backward or away; withdraw or retire: retreated to his study. See Synonyms at recede1.2. To make a military retreat.3. To move back from a position of advancement or become smaller: land that emerged when the oceans retreated.4. To change or undergo change in one’s thinking or in a position: They retreated from their demands.5. To decline in value: Stocks retreated in morning trading.v.tr. Games To move (a chess piece) back.[Middle English retret, from Old French retrait, retret, from past participle of retraire, retrere, to draw back, from Latin retrahere; see retract.]re·treat?er n.American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.retreat (r??tri?t) vb (mainly intr) 1. (Military) military to withdraw or retire in the face of or from action with an enemy, either due to defeat or in order to adopt a more favourable position2. to retire or withdraw, as to seclusion or shelter3. (Physiology) (of a person’s features) to slope back; recede4. (Chess & Draughts) (tr) chess to move (a piece) backn5. the act of retreating or withdrawing6. (Military) military a. a withdrawal or retirement in the face of the enemyb. a bugle call signifying withdrawal or retirement, esp (formerly) to within a defended fortification7. retirement or seclusion8. a place, such as a sanatorium or monastery, to which one may retire for refuge, quiet, etc9. a period of seclusion, esp for religious contemplation10. (Medicine) an institution, esp a private one, for the care and treatment of people who are mentally ill, infirm, elderly, etc[C14: from Old French retret, from retraire to withdraw, from Latin retrahere to pull back; see retract]Collins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014re-treat (ri?trit) v.t., v.i. to treat again. [1880?1885] re?treat (r??trit) n. 1. the forced or strategic withdrawal of a military force before an enemy. 2. the act of withdrawing, as into safety or privacy; retirement. 3. a place of refuge, seclusion, or privacy. 4. an asylum, as for the insane. 5. a retirement or a period of retirement for religious exercises and meditation. 6. a. a flag-lowering ceremony held at sunset on a military post. b. the bugle call or drumbeat played at this ceremony. v.i. 7. to withdraw, retire, or draw back, esp. for shelter or seclusion. 8. to make a retreat. 9. to slope backward; recede. 10. to draw or lead back. Idioms: beat a retreat, to withdraw or retreat, esp. in disgrace. [1300?50; (n.) retret