retract

Etymology 1

From Late Middle English retracten, retract (“to absorb, draw in”), from Latin retractus (“withdrawn”), the perfect passive participle of Latin retrahō (“to draw or pull back, withdraw; to bring back; to compel to turn back; to recall; to get back, recover; to hold back, restrain, withhold; to remove, take away; to bring to light again; (Late Latin) to delay”), from re- (prefix meaning ‘again’) + trahō (“to drag, pull; to extract, withdraw”) (apparently ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *tregʰ- (“to drag, pull (?)”), a variant of *dʰregʰ- (“to drag, pull; to run”)). Doublet of retreat.

verb

1. (transitive)
   1. To pull (something) back or back inside.
      An airplane retracts its wheels for flight.
      The collector shoes are automatically retracted when the electric handle is moved from "service off" to "lock off". 1962 June, “The Design of the S.R. Electro-diesels”, in Modern Railways, Shepperton, Surrey: Ian Allen Publishing, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 393
      1. (specifically, zoology) To draw (an extended body part) back into the body.
         A cat can retract its claws.
   2. (rare) To avert (one's eyes or a gaze).
   3. (phonetics) To pronounce (a sound, especially a vowel) farther to the back of the vocal tract.
   4. (obsolete) To hold back (something); to restrain.
2. (intransitive) To draw back; to draw up; to withdraw.
   The bus was stuck at the stop as its wheelchair ramp wouldn’t retract after use.
   Muscles retract after amputation.

Etymology 2

Partly: * from retract (verb) (see etymology 1); and * from Late Latin retractus (“a pulling back, retreat; refuge”), from Latin retractus (“withdrawn”), the perfect passive participle of Latin retrahō (“to draw or pull back, withdraw; to bring back; to compel to turn back; to recall; to get back, recover; to hold back, restrain, withhold; to remove, take away; to bring to light again; (Late Latin) to delay”) (see etymology 1) + -tus (suffix forming action nouns from verbs).

noun

1. An act of retracting or withdrawing (a mistake, a statement, etc.); a retraction.
2. A pulling back, especially (military">military) of an army or military">military troops; a pull-back, a retreat; also, a signal for this to be done.
3. Synonym of retreat (“an act of accidentally injuring a horse's foot by incorrectly nailing it during shoeing”)

Etymology 3

From Middle French rétracter (“to annul; to reconsider; to withdraw”) (modern French rétracter (“to retract; to contract”)), and from its etymon Latin retractāre, the present active infinitive of retractō (“to retract, withdraw; to annul, revoke; to detract from; to undertake again; to reconsider; to remember; to decline, refuse”), from re- (prefix meaning ‘again’) + tractō (“to drag, haul, tug”) (from trahō (“to drag, pull; to extract, withdraw”) (see further at etymology 1) + -tō (frequentative suffix forming verbs)).

verb

1. (transitive)
   1. To cancel or take back (something, such as an edict or a favour or grant previously bestowed); to rescind, to revoke.
   2. To break or fail to keep (a promise, etc.); to renege.
   3. To take back or withdraw (something that has been said or written); to disavow, to repudiate.
      I retract all the accusations I made about the senator and sincerely hope he won’t sue me.
      She will, and ſhe will not; ſhe grants, denies, / Conſents, retracts, advances, and then flies, / Approving and rejecting in a Breath, / Now proff'ring Mercy, now preſenting Death! 1710, [George Granville, 1st Baron Lansdowne], “The British Enchanters; or, No Magick Like Love. A Dramatick Poem.[…]”, in Poems upon Several Occasions, London: […] J[acob] Tonson[…], published 1712, →OCLC, act I, scene i, page 195
      He has also suggested in a newspaper interview that China could be appeased if it were given partial control of Taiwan. An official in Taipei demanded that he retract his suggestion. 2022-10-26, Cade Metz, Adam Satariano, Chang Che, “How Elon Musk Became a Geopolitical Chaos Agent”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
   4. (games) Originally in chess and now in other games as well: to take back or undo (a move); specifically (card games) to take back or withdraw (a card which has been played).
2. (intransitive)
   1. To decline or fail to do something promised; to break one's word.
   2. Of something said or written (such as published academic work): to take back or withdraw.
   3. (card games, archaic) To change one's mind after declaring an intention to make a certain move.