Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Retract \Re*tract"\, v. i.
   1. To draw back; to draw up; as, muscles retract after
      amputation.

   2. To take back what has been said; to withdraw a concession
      or a declaration.

            She will, and she will not; she grants, denies,
            Consents, retracts, advances, and then files.
                                                  --Granville.

Retract \Re*tract"\, n. (Far.)
   The pricking of a horse's foot in nailing on a shoe.

Retract \Re*tract"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Retracted}; p. pr. &
   vb. n. {Retracting}.] [F. r['e]tracter, L. retractare,
   retractatum, to handle again, reconsider, retract, fr.
   retrahere, retractum, to draw back. See {Retreat}.]
   1. To draw back; to draw up or shorten; as, the cat can
      retract its claws; to retract a muscle.

   2. Ti withdraw; to recall; to disavow; to recant; to take
      back; as, to retract an accusation or an assertion.

            I would as freely have retracted this charge of
            idolatry as I ever made it.           --Bp.
                                                  Stillingfleet.

   3. To take back,, as a grant or favor previously bestowed; to
      revoke. [Obs.] --Woodward.

   Syn: To recal; withdraw; rescind; revoke; unsay; disavow;
        recant; abjure; disown.

Retract \Re*tract"\, n.
   Retreat. [Obs.] --Bacon.

Source : WordNet®

retract
     v 1: formally reject or disavow a formerly held belief, usually
          under pressure; "He retracted his earlier statements
          about his religion"; "She abjured her beliefs" [syn: {abjure},
           {recant}, {forswear}, {resile}]
     2: pull away from a source of disgust or fear [syn: {shrink
        back}]
     3: use a surgical instrument to hold open (the edges of a wound
        or an organ) [syn: {pull back}, {draw back}]
     4: pull inward or towards a center; "The pilot drew in the
        landing gear"; "The cat retracted his claws" [syn: {draw
        in}]