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arretrare

to retreat

verb ar-reh-TRAH-reh Rare
Travel & Places Movement

Also means

to pull back

Usage Note

Arretrare means to move backward, whether physically (troops retreating) or figuratively (backing down from a position). It is conjugated with avere when transitive (hanno arretrato le truppe, they pulled the troops back) and with essere when intransitive and focused on the subject's displacement. The related adjective arretrato also means 'backward' or 'in arrears'.

Examples

"Le truppe furono costrette ad arretrare."

Natural Translation

The troops were forced to retreat.

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