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.