RETRACT', verb transitive [Latin retractus, retraho; re and traho, to draw.] 1. To recall, as a declaration, words or saying; to disavow; to recant; as, to retract an accusation, charge or assertion. I would as freely have retracted the charge of idolatry, as I ever made it. 2. To take back; to rescind. [Little used.] 3. To draw back, as claws. RETRACT', verb transitive To take back; to unsay; to withdraw concession or declaration. She will, and she will not; she grants, denies, consents, retracts, advances, and then flies. RETRACT', noun Among horsemen, the prick of a horse's foot in nailing a shoe.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI