Topic: ANIMALS
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| Date: | 1400-1500 |
| Language: | Latin |
| Origin: | , past participle of retrahere 'to pull back', from trahere 'to pull' |
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re‧tract
formal
formal1 [transitive] if you retract something that you said or agreed, you say that you did not mean it [= withdraw]: 
He confessed to the murder but later retracted his statement.
He confessed to the murder but later retracted his statement.2 [intransitive and transitive]HBATEM if part of a machine or an animal's body retracts or is retracted, it moves back into the main part : The sea otter can retract the claws on its front feet.
The sea otter can retract the claws on its front feet.
