zurücktreten
German, verb
zurücktreten is spelled Z-U-R-Ü-C-K-T-R-E-T-E-N (12 letters) and appears 5.8 times per million words in written German, the 11,022nd most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Zurücktreten is a German verb meaning “to step back” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). With a capital, Zurücktreten is a different word: “gerund of zurücktreten”. The German Wiktionary defines it as “sich von einer Stelle nach hinten wegbewegen”.
What does zurücktreten mean in English?
verb
- 1
to step back
- 2
to resign, to step down
- 3
to rescind, to cancel
noun
- 1
neutergerund of zurücktreten
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
verb: 1. sich von einer Stelle nach hinten wegbewegen 2. seine Position oder Funktion aufgeben, ein Amt niederlegen
The definition in the German Wiktionary, in German.
Source: German Wiktionary, dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of zurücktreten
- tritt zurück present singular third-person
- trat zurück past
- zurückgetreten participle past
- träte zurück past subjunctive
- haben auxiliary
- sein auxiliary
- 5 strong
- haben or sein auxiliary
- zurücktretend participle present
- zurückzutreten infinitive infinitive-zu
- trete zurück first-person indicative present
- treten zurück first-person indicative plural
- trittst zurück indicative present second-person
- tretet zurück indicative plural present
- tretest zurück second-person singular subjunctive
- traten zurück first-person indicative plural
- träten zurück first-person formal plural
- tratest zurück indicative preterite second-person
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
English words that translate to zurücktreten
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is zurücktreten in German?
zurücktreten appears 5.8 times per million words in written German.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).