[verb] [formal] - to take back or admit as false (an offer, statement, etc.), or to pull (something) back or inretract an offer/promise/invitation/confession [T]When questioned on TV, the minister retracted (his allegations). [I or T]The wheels retracted after the aircraft took off. [I]The cat retracted its claws. [T]
RETRACT
Meaning of RETRACT in English
Cambridge English vocab. Кембриджский английский словарь. 2012