RETRACT


Meaning of RETRACT in English

re ‧ tract /rɪˈtrækt/ BrE AmE verb formal

[ Date: 1400-1500 ; Language: Latin ; Origin: past participle of retrahere 'to pull back' , from trahere 'to pull' ]

1 . [transitive] if you retract something that you said or agreed, you say that you did not mean it SYN withdraw :

He confessed to the murder but later retracted his statement.

2 . [intransitive and transitive] if part of a machine or an animal’s body retracts or is retracted, it moves back into the main part:

The sea otter can retract the claws on its front feet.

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English.      Longman - Словарь современного английского языка.