verb
definition
To treat or deal with (a topic) again or differently.
definition
To apply treatment to (an injury, a surface, etc.) again
verb
definition
To withdraw from a position, go back.
definition
(of a glacier) To shrink back due to generally warmer temperatures.
definition
To slope back.
example
a retreating forehead
noun
definition
The act of moving back from something; a retreat.
Examples of retreating in a Sentence
When we'd finished, he remained with the women instead of retreating upstairs.
He stepped away from her, retreating to the bedroom area.
She stared at his retreating back.
The tactics in war were the traditional nomad tactics of harassing the enemy on the march, constantly retreating before him and avoiding a general engagement.
Dingaan passed into Swaziland in advance of his retreating forces, and was there murdered, while Panda was crowned king of Zululand by the Boers.
At Anzac, where conditions favoured the retreating troops less, it had been necessary to destroy some valuable war material at the last moment, and a few worn-out guns had purposely been abandoned.
Of the first the physical characteristics are a small, thin-limbed body, hair black, short and woolly, projecting jaws, rounded, narrow, retreating forehead, long and narrow head, enormous eyebrow ridges, flat nose and dark skin.
The words weren't out of my mouth when we heard his door open and footsteps retreating down the hall.
She shuddered, his spell retreating.
In January 1859 he suffered a violent haemorrhage of the lungs, and sought relief by retreating first to the West Indies and afterwards to Europe.
Half the mounted men lost their way in attempting to pass the enemy's flank and were taken, and the brigade, threatened to its left rear by Joubert's advance and by the force that had seized the railway, only escaped being enveloped by retreating upon Ladysmith, where it arrived in an exhausted state on the 26th of October.
On his arrival at Hofuf, Sadlier found that Ibrahim had already left Deraiya, but still hoping to intercept him before quitting Nejd, he followed up the retreating Egyptians through Yemama, and Wushm to Ras in Kasim, where he caught up the main body of Ibrahim's army, though the pasha himself had gone on to Medina.
The retreating Missourians committed some homicides.
In front of them rows of gray cloaks were already visible through the smoke, and an officer catching sight of Bagration rushed shouting after the crowd of retreating soldiers, ordering them back.
The regimental commander and Major Ekonomov had stopped beside a bridge, letting the retreating companies pass by them, when a soldier came up and took hold of the commander's stirrup, almost leaning against him.
Either he is retreating, which is the only thing we need fear, or he is changing his position.
Other columns after losing half their men were retreating in disorderly confused masses.
After five o'clock it was only at the Augesd Dam that a hot cannonade (delivered by the French alone) was still to be heard from numerous batteries ranged on the slopes of the Pratzen Heights, directed at our retreating forces.
A retreating regiment, thronging and hurrying, blocked the street.
Instead his retreating back filled her with shame.
He took her arm and led her to the couch, retreating to the kitchen for more cookies, water, and a bottle of painkillers.
Then, a wave to the dust of the retreating vehicle.
Alex opened the passenger door and climbed into the car, his attention equally divided between the retreating figure and Carmen.
She followed them and set her cocoa down on the counter, grabbing the whiskey and retreating with the intent of drinking herself to sleep.
She considered retreating but suspected that would draw the attention of the men focused on the battle.
Dean caught sight of its bearded driver who stared in the direction of the retreating woman.
Clouds from the retreating storm looked like a triumphant army, hauling away its ordinance for another engagement—with only white-gray stragglers tagging behind.
The retreating blonde woman's rope and crampons lay discarded at the edge of the path, the bag from their recent purchase crumpled nearby.
The forms were getting braver, darting out from the trees and then retreating when she flashed the light in that direction.
Instead of retreating into the forest—the way they'd come—he walked behind a boulder and started up a set of long, shallow steps leading up the mountain.
Dean retrieved his car and fought his way out of town on roads thick with retreating commuters.
Watching his retreating back, it occurred to her once again that she might lose him over moral issues.
But he couldn't know that the fear was retreating further with each minute.
Taran turned on his heel, retreating into the squat building once more.
She stared at his retreating back, relief mingling with a new ache.
With that, he stepped off the porch and strode to his car, leaving her staring open mouthed at his retreating back.
Retreating to the center of the room, she tried to think instead of outright panicking.
Immediately on the fall of Pembroke Cromwell set out to relieve Lambert, who was slowly retreating before Hamilton's superior forces; he joined him near Knaresborough on the 12th of August, and started next day in pursuit of Hamilton in Lancashire, placing himself at Stonyhurst near Preston, cutting off Hamilton from the north and his allies, and defeating him in detail on the 17th, 18th and 19th at Preston and at Warrington.
Hurriedly retreating to Senaf, hard pressed by the Italians, who shelled Senaf on the evening of the 15th of January, Mangashh was obliged to abandon his camp and provisions to Baratieri, who also secured a quantity of correspondence establishing the complicity of Menelek and Mangash in the revolt of Bath-Agos.
Aretas retired from Judaea; and Aristobulus pursued the retreating army.
Near Peterwardein a great battle was fought, in which the Austrians completely routed the Turks; pursuing their advantage they took Temesvar and overran the Banat; in 1717 they captured Belgrade, the Turks retreating to Adrianople.
Napoleon, who had personally taken part in the fighting of the previous day, and followed the pursuit as far as Landshut, whence he had despatched Massena to follow the retreating Austrians along the Isar, seems to have realized about 3 A.M.
Anthony a Wood prophesied that he would one day break his neck while running downstairs after a retreating guest, in the hope of extracting a story from him.
Disregarding popular tradition, which connects the origin of the town with a legend that Charlemagne, when retreating before the Saxons, was safely conducted across the river by a doe, it may be asserted that the first genuine historical notice of the town occurs in 793, when Einhard, Charlemagne's biographer, tells us that he spent the winter in the villa Frankonovurd.
The retreating French troops belonged to Frossard's command, and as they were in considerable confusion Frossard called on du Preuil's brigade of the imperial guard cavalry to charge.
Hence the orders issued overnight on the presumption that the main force of the French was retreating to the north and west were allowed to stand, and the whole II.
The British Third Army followed up the retreating enemy, being impeded only by rearguards whose resistance was easily overcome, and by Sept.
Instead of drawing his corps together and retreating en masse up the Fleurus road, Zieten wisely withdrew on two roads, using those to Quatre Bras and Fleurus.
On the side of the defence, each colonel had been left to retire as best he could, and thus certain fractions of the retreating Russians encountered Inouye's advancing troops and were destroyed after a most gallant resistance.
The rearguard itself, at Hamatan, was almost entirely sacrificed, owing to the wrong direction taken in retreating by its left flankguard.