re·tract
(rĭ-trăkt′)v. re·tract·ed, re·tract·ing, re·tracts
v.tr.1. To take back; disavow: refused to retract the statement.
2. To draw back or in: a plane retracting its landing gear.
3. Linguistics a. To utter (a sound) with the tongue drawn back.
b. To draw back (the tongue).
v.intr.1. To take something back or disavow it.
2. To draw back:
a leash that retracts into a plastic case. See Synonyms at
recede1.
[Latin retractāre, to revoke, frequentative of retrahere, to draw back : re-, re- + trahere, to draw. V., tr., senses 2 and 3, and v., intr., sense 2, Middle English retracten, from Old French retracter, from Latin retractus, past participle of retrahere.]
re·tract′a·bil′i·ty, re·tract′i·bil′i·ty n.
re·tract′a·ble, re·tract′i·ble adj.
re′trac·ta′tion (rē′trăk-tā′shən) 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.