retreat

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun The act or process of moving back or away, especially from something hazardous, formidable, or unpleasant.
• noun Withdrawal of a military force from a dangerous position or from an enemy attack.
• noun The process of receding from a position or of becoming smaller.
• noun The process of changing or undergoing change in one's thinking or in a position.
• noun A decline in value.
• noun A place affording peace, quiet, privacy, or security. synonym: shelter.
• noun A period of seclusion, retirement, or solitude.
• noun A period of group withdrawal for prayer, meditation, or study.
• noun The signal for a military withdrawal.
• noun A bugle call or drumbeat signaling the lowering of the flag at sunset, as on a military base.
• noun The military ceremony of lowering the flag.
• intransitive verb To move backward or away; withdraw or retire: synonym: recede.
• intransitive verb To make a military retreat.
• intransitive verb To move back from a position of advancement or become smaller.
• intransitive verb To change or undergo change in one's thinking or in a position.
• intransitive verb To decline in value.
• intransitive verb To move (a chess piece) back.

from The Century Dictionary.

• In chess, to move (a piece) backward.
• To retire; move backward; go back.
• Specifically, to retire from military action or from an enemy; give way; fall back, as from a dangerous position.
• In fencing, to move backward in order to avoid the point of the adversary's sword: specifically expressing a quick movement of the left foot a few inches to the rear, followed by the right foot, the whole being so executed that the fencer keeps his equilibrium and is ready to lunge and parry at will.
• To recede: withdraw from an asserted claim or pretension, or from a course of action previously undertaken.
• To withdraw to a retreat; go into retirement; retire for shelter, rest, or quiet.
• To slope backward; have a receding outline or direction: as, a retreating forehead or chin.
• To retract; retrace.
• noun The act of retiring or withdrawing; withdrawal; departure.
• noun Specifically, the retirement, either forced or strategical, of an army before an enemy; an orderly withdrawal from action or position: distinguished from a flight, which lacks system or plan.
• noun The withdrawing of a ship or fleet from action; also, the order or disposition of ships declining an engagement.
• noun A signal given in the army or navy, by beat of drum or sound of trumpet, at sunset, or for retiring from exercise, parade, or action.
• noun Retirement; privacy; a state of seclusion from society or public life.
• noun Place of retirement or privacy; a refuge; an asylum; a place of security or peace.
• noun A period of retirement for religious self-examination, meditation, and special prayer.
• To reconsider; examine anew.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• intransitive verb To make a retreat; to retire from any position or place; to withdraw.
• noun The act of retiring or withdrawing one's self, especially from what is dangerous or disagreeable.
• noun The place to which anyone retires; a place or privacy or safety; a refuge; an asylum.
• noun The retiring of an army or body of men from the face of an enemy, or from any ground occupied to a greater distance from the enemy, or from an advanced position.
• noun The withdrawing of a ship or fleet from an enemy for the purpose of avoiding an engagement or escaping after defeat.
• noun A signal given in the army or navy, by the beat of a drum or the sounding of trumpet or bugle, at sunset (when the roll is called), or for retiring from action.
• noun A special season of solitude and silence to engage in religious exercises.
• noun A period of several days of withdrawal from society to a religious house for exclusive occupation in the duties of devotion.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun The act of pulling back or withdrawing, as from something dangerous, or unpleasant.
• noun The act of reversing direction and receding from a forward position.
• noun A peaceful, quiet place affording privacy, or security.
• noun A period of retirement, seclusion, or solitude.