Re-treat or retreat?
re-treat is a verb meaning “To treat or deal with (a topic) again or differently”; retreat is a noun meaning “The act of pulling back or withdrawing, as from something dangerous, or…”. Use re-treat as a verb and retreat as a noun (retreat is also a verb: “To withdraw from a position, go back”). re-treat is written with a hyphen and retreat as one word; they are used differently.
What is the difference between re-treat and retreat?
| re-treat | retreat | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | verb | noun, verb |
| Meaning | To treat or deal with (a topic) again or differently To apply treatment to (an injury, a surface, etc.) again | The act of pulling back or withdrawing, as from something dangerous, or unpleasant The act of reversing direction and receding from a forward position To withdraw from a position, go back |
| Example | none recorded | The general opted for a swift retreat because he saw his troops were vastly outnumbered |
| Forms | re-treats, re-treating, re-treated | retreats |
| Pronunciation | /ɹiːˈtɹiːt/ | /ɹɪˈtɹiːt/ /ɹəˈtɹiːt/ /ɹiˈtɹiːt/ |
| In writing | not counted (the list counts single words) | 13 times per million words |
Sources: re-treat and retreat in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of re-treat and retreat
re-treat
- 1
To treat or deal with (a topic) again or differently
- 2
To apply treatment to (an injury, a surface, etc.) again
retreat
- 1
The act of pulling back or withdrawing, as from something dangerous, or unpleasant
- 2
To withdraw from a position, go back
- 3
Alternative form of re-treat
- 4
The act of reversing direction and receding from a forward position
- 5
To withdraw military forces
The general refused to order his soldiers to retreat, despite being vastly outnumbered
- 6
Withdrawal by a military force from a dangerous position or from enemy attack
The general opted for a swift retreat because he saw his troops were vastly outnumbered
- 7
To shrink back due to generally warmer temperatures. (of a glacier)
- 8
A peaceful, quiet place affording privacy or security
a mountain retreat
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, re-treat or retreat?
re-treat is a phrase, which the list of single words does not count; retreat 13 times per million words.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).