retract
to draw back or take back
Roots
- re-: back, again, or backward motion
- tract / trah: draw, pull, handle, or manage
Other words with the tract / trah root
Tract gives pulling. To retract is to pull something back: a statement, claw, promise, or claim.
The magazine had to retract the false claim.
Retract is a backward pull. A cat retracts its claws; a writer retracts a claim; a person retracts a promise.
The movement makes the meaning sticky: something went out, then gets pulled back in.