How to Use retract in a Sentence

retract

verb
  • The plane's landing gear failed to retract.
  • A cat can retract its claws.
  • The pilot retracted the plane's landing gear.
  • They retracted the job offer.
  • Their college grants were retracted.
  • Move too fast, and the blade retracts.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 9 Jan. 2026
  • Squeeze your chest, then retract both arms back to the start.
    — Mitch Calvert, Men's Health, 28 Nov. 2022
  • At first, the plants would retract and curl their leaves when they were dropped.
    — Katia Moskvitch, WIRED, 14 July 2018
  • The freeze has been blocked in court, and the memo was retracted.
    — Chris Higgins, Kansas City Star, 5 Feb. 2025
  • Our group would like to dare these business men to retract their farms!
    — Kyle Denis, Billboard, 5 Oct. 2023
  • Pressure on the latch will force it to retract, and the knob should turn and open the door.
    — Joseph Truini, Popular Mechanics, 17 Jan. 2023
  • Hydraulics are used to retract the two clamps prior to launch.
    — Stephen Clark, Ars Technica, 14 Mar. 2025
  • Then, turn the handle to retract the cable and pull out the clog.
    — Emily Benda Gaylord, The Spruce, 21 May 2026
  • All of them have small core teams that expand and retract as projects demand.
    — Barry Levitt, Los Angeles Times, 17 Feb. 2026
  • When the wheels retract, some stowaways are crushed by the landing gear.
    — Krista Stevens, Longreads, 10 Aug. 2020
  • But later, they were forced to retract those reports.
    — Andrei Kolesnikov, Foreign Affairs, 8 Sep. 2025
  • Her lips have retracted, her nose is gone, and her eyes and eyelids are dry and sunken.
    — National Geographic, 4 July 2017
  • In a grin, the mouth is closed, but the lips are retracted to expose the teeth and gums.
    — Frans De Waal, Discover Magazine, 31 May 2019
  • When done, simply snap the cover back on and retract the brush to keep it clean and in good shape.
    — Carolyn Forté, Good Housekeeping, 17 Jan. 2023
  • The clasp is then removed, and the cable is retracted back up out of the way.
    — Ben Coxworth, New Atlas, 27 Oct. 2024
  • The tweets and video have now been retracted and will not be reposted.
    — Zach Kyle, idahostatesman, 17 May 2017
  • Push the button on the handle and push the brush down to retract the holder for use.
    — Jodhaira Rodriguez, Good Housekeeping, 24 May 2022
  • Hold for two breaths then retract the ball back to the starting position.
    — Philly.com, 27 Mar. 2018
  • Sliding glass pocket doors retract and open on to the terrace.
    — Janice O'Leary, Robb Report, 15 Apr. 2021
  • Takaichi cannot retract her statement and Beijing knows that.
    — Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 25 Nov. 2025
  • Stowaways often get crushed when the landing gear retracts, as there is not much room.
    — Tom Rogers, Newsweek, 26 Dec. 2024
  • As the chicken legs roast, the tendons that are no longer attached to the ends will retract.
    — The Washington Post, OregonLive.com, 16 Jan. 2018
  • The soft brush plumbs the crevices of your keyboard to sweep out crumbs, then retracts with a snap for easy storage.
    — Boone Ashworth, Wired, 18 Feb. 2020
  • In the back rests a queen-size Murphy bed that retracts into the wall to make space.
    — Boone Ashworth, WIRED, 6 Jan. 2025
  • The landing gear and flaps were both found retracted, the report said.
    — Elizabeth Hernandez, Denver Post, 20 Sep. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'retract.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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