retract

Word family

Related topics: Animals, Mechanical

re·tract /rɪˈtrækt/ verb formal

1 [transitiveT]SAY/STATE if you retract something that you said or agreed, you say that you did not mean it 收回，撤销〔已说的话或已答应的事〕 SYN withdraw

He confessed to the murder but later retracted his statement.

他承认谋杀，但后来又翻供了。

2 [intransitiveI, transitiveT]HBATEM if part of a machine or an animal’s body retracts or is retracted, it moves back into the main part （使）缩回，（使）缩入

The sea otter can retract the claws on its front feet.

海獭能缩回前掌上的爪子。

Examples from the Corpus

retract• Equally, you might use ambiguous words which your superiors treat as a resignation which they will not allow you to retract.• On some other aircraft, such as Airbus Industrie jets, the spoilers would have retracted automatically during the emergency climb.• But torture was applied and Fian confessed, only to retract his confession later.• Bingham retracted his remarks and apologized to those concerned.• On the two previous occasions he had retracted his resignation.• Galileo was not the first scientist to be forced to retract his theories.• The cat scratched him then retracted its claws• The Financial Times therefore had to retract that point.• At first it might help to retract the iron a little.• The cooling tube retracted the rod, thus opening the draft and increasing the fire.

From Longman Business Dictionary

retractre·tract /rɪˈtrækt/ verb [transitiveT]

1FINANCE if a company retracts bonds, shares etc, it takes them off the market by buying them back from investorsSYN RETIRE

It will use its credit line to retract C$53.3 million in preferred shares.

2to make an official statement saying that something you said earlier is not true

A key witness hasretracted histestimony (=a statement in a law court) a year after the conviction.

—retraction noun [countableC, uncountableU]

The retraction of its preferred shares will be completed as scheduled.

Some newspapers ran retractions of stories they had printed.

Origin retract

(1400-1500) Latin past participle of retrahere “to pull back”, from trahere “to pull”