retract
/ɹɪˈtɹækt/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.03 in modern English
9
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
verb
To pronounce (a sound, especially a vowel) farther to the back of the vocal tract.
Transitive verb
noun
A pulling back, especially (military) of an army or military troops; a pull-back, a retreat; also, a signal for this to be done.
Obsolete
Example Sentences
- "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"."
- "A cat can retract its claws."
- "The bus was stuck at the stop as its wheelchair ramp wouldn’t retract after use."
- "Muscles retract after amputation."
- "[T]hey began to finde fault with Poeſie, […] ſaying, that metaphors æmigmaticall, and covert words, yea and the ambiguities which Poetry uſeth, were but ſhifts, retracts, and evaſions to hide and cover all, whenſoever the events fell not out accordingly."
Etymology
From Late Middle English retracten, retract (“to absorb, draw in”), from Latin retractus (“withdrawn”), the perfect passive participle of Latin retrahō (“to draw or pull back, withdraw; to bring back; to compel to turn back; to recall; to get back, recover; to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”). Doublet of retreat.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *dʰregʰ-, retracten, retractus, retrahō, rétracter, retractāre
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ɹɪˈtɹækt/
- British English: /ɹɪˈtɹækt/
Usage
Inflected Forms
retracts (present, singular)
retracting (participle, present)
retracted (participle, past)
retracted (past)
retracts (plural)
no-table-tags (table tags)
glossary (inflection template)
retracted (first person, past)
retractest (archaic, present)
retracted (past, second person)
retractedst (archaic, past)
retracteth (archaic, present)