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Verb: withdraw (withdrew,withdrawn)  widh'dro or with'dro
  1. Move away or backward
    "The enemy withdrew";
    - retreat, pull away, draw back, recede, pull back, retire, move back
     
  2. Stop taking active part
    "He withdrew from chess";
    - retire
     
  3. Release from something that holds fast, connects, or entangles
    "I want to withdraw myself from his influence";
    - disengage
     
  4. Cause to be returned
    "withdraw the defective auto tires";
    - recall, call in, call back
     
  5. Take back what one has said
    "He withdrew his words";
    - swallow, take back, unsay
     
  6. Keep away from others
    - seclude, sequester, sequestrate
     
  7. Break from a meeting or gathering
    "We withdrew for lunch";
    - adjourn, retire
     
  8. Retire gracefully
    "He withdrew when he realized he could no longer handle the demands of the chairmanship";
    - bow out
     
  9. Remove (a commodity) from (a supply source)
    "She withdrew $2,000 from the account";
    - draw, take out, draw off
     
  10. Lose interest
    "he withdrew from life when his wife died";
    - retire
     
  11. Make a retreat from an earlier commitment or activity
    - retreat, pull back, back out, back away, crawfish [N. Amer, informal], crawfish out [N. Amer, informal], pull in one's horns [informal]
     
  12. Move or change something to no longer be present or in its previous position; also used metaphorically
    "This machine withdraws heat from the environment";
    - remove, take, take away

Derived forms: withdrew, withdraws, withdrawing, withdrawn

See also: take

Type of: cease, close, close down, close up, discontinue, disown, fatigue, fold, give up, go, insulate, isolate, jade, lay off, let go, let go of, locomote, move, pall, quit, release, relinquish, renounce, repudiate, retire, shut down, stop, surcease [archaic], take, tire, travel, weary

Antonym: operate

Encyclopedia: Withdraw