retraite
/ʁə.tʁɛt/feminine
To say retreat in French, meaning the act of pulling back or withdrawing, use retraite.
retraite covers a military withdrawal as well as a quiet stay away from daily life, as in retraite spirituelle, a spiritual retreat. In everyday life it is also the standard word for retirement from work.
Meaning: act of pulling back or withdrawing (noun)
Which one should you use?
battre en retraite means to retreat, usually a forced or tactical withdrawal. se retirer is more neutral and means to withdraw from a place or situation. se replier is also used for troops pulling back.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
retraite is a feminine noun.
How do you pronounce it?
retraite is pronounced /ʁə.tʁɛt/ in two syllables.
Did you know?
- While retraite can mean a quiet getaway, the phrase battre en retraite specifically evokes the sound of drums used to coordinate a withdrawal.
- In the French army, la retraite is a specific bugle call played at the end of the day to signal soldiers to return to their quarters.
- The word 'retraite' is used in the common expression la retraite, which refers to the social security or pension system as a whole in France.
Examples in context
- Les moines faisaient retraite.The monks were on retreat.faisaient retraite refers to a religious retreat.Tatoeba #4992671 by sacredceltic, translation #4332922 by monahxo
- Tom n'a pas battu en retraite.Tom didn't retreat.battu en retraite means did retreat, here in the negative.Tatoeba #7414671 by lbdx, translation #8432537 by marioo
- Il nous faut battre en retraite.We must retreat.Il nous faut means we must.Tatoeba #4777531 by sacredceltic, translation #2241177 by CK
- Notre entreprise organise une retraite d'entreprise pour favoriser la cohésion interne.Our company is organizing a company retreat to promote internal cohesion.
- J'ai prévu de participer à une retraite spirituelle dans un monastère.I'm planning to participate in a spiritual retreat at a monastery.
- J'ai vraiment besoin de me mettre au vert après cette semaine éprouvante.I really need to retreat to the countryside after this exhausting week.
- 10 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Emma and Gabriel are discussing a historical military strategy.
- EmmaLa retraite a été très rapide.The retreat was very fast.
- GabrielOui, mais l'armée a perdu beaucoup d'hommes.Yes, but the army lost many men.
- EmmaC'est une retraite désastreuse pour lui.It is a disastrous retreat for him.
- GabrielIl doit reconstruire ses forces.He must rebuild his forces.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “retreat” translations and entries retraite, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
