retreat

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♦ re|treat /rɪtr'iːt/ (retreats retreating retreated)
1 [VERB] V prep, also V
If you retreat, you move away from something or someone.
`I've already got a job,' I said quickly, and retreated from the room...
2 [VERB] V
When an army retreats, it moves away from enemy forces in order to avoid fighting them.
The French, suddenly outnumbered, were forced to retreat...
[N-VAR]
Retreat is also a noun.
In June 1942, the British 8th Army was in full retreat.
3 [VERB] V from/into n
If you retreat from something such as a plan or a way of life, you give it up, usually in order to do something safer or less extreme.
I believe people should live in houses that allow them to retreat from the harsh realities of life...
[N-VAR] usu N from/into n
Retreat is also a noun.
The President's remarks appear to signal that there will be no retreat from his position...
4 [N-COUNT] oft supp N
A retreat is a quiet, isolated place that you go to in order to rest or to do things in private.
He spent yesterday hidden away in his country retreat.
5 [PHRASE] V inflects
If you beat a retreat, you leave a place quickly in order to avoid an embarrassing or dangerous situation.
Cockburn decided it was time to beat a hasty retreat.

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