retreat

Noun

• the act of withdrawing or going backward (especially to escape something hazardous or unpleasant)

• withdrawal for prayer and study and meditation
  • the religious retreat is a form of vacation activity
    

• an area where you can be alone

• (military) a bugle call signaling the lowering of the flag at sunset

• (military) a signal to begin a withdrawal from a dangerous position

• a place of privacy; a place affording peace and quiet

• (military) withdrawal of troops to a more favorable position to escape the enemy's superior forces or after a defeat
  • the disorderly retreat of French troops
    

Verb

• make a retreat from an earlier commitment or activity
  • We'll have to crawfish out from meeting with him
    
  • He backed out of his earlier promise
    
  • The aggressive investment company pulled in its horns
    

• move back
  • The glacier retrogrades
    

• move away, as for privacy
  • The Pope retreats to Castelgondolfo every summer
    

• pull back or move away or backward
  • The enemy withdrew
    
  • The limo pulled away from the curb
    

Related words

• Synonyms: 
  retirement , hideaway , pull back , back out , back away , crawfish , crawfish out , pull in one's horns , withdraw , retrograde , pull away , draw back , recede , retire , move back
• Antonyms: 
  progress , progression , procession , advance , advancement , forward motion , onward motion , pass on , move on , march on , go on