WITHDRAW (withdrawn, withdrew)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does withdraw mean? 

• WITHDRAW (verb)
  The verb WITHDRAW has 12 senses:

1. pull back or move away or backward

2. withdraw from active participation

3. release from something that holds fast, connects, or entangles

4. cause to be returned

5. take back what one has said

6. keep away from others

7. break from a meeting or gathering

8. retire gracefully

9. remove (a commodity) from (a supply source)

10. lose interest

11. make a retreat from an earlier commitment or activity

12. remove something concrete, as by lifting, pushing, or taking off, or remove something abstract

  Familiarity information: WITHDRAW used as a verb is familiar.

 Dictionary entry details 

• WITHDRAW (verb)

Conjugation:

Sense 1

Meaning:

Pull back or move away or backward

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Synonyms:

draw back; move back; pull away; pull back; recede; retire; retreat; withdraw

Context example:

The limo pulled away from the curb

Hypernyms (to "withdraw" is one way to...):

go; locomote; move; travel (change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically)

Verb group:

back away; back out; crawfish; crawfish out; pull back; pull in one's horns; retreat; withdraw (make a retreat from an earlier commitment or activity)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "withdraw"):

fall back (move back and away from)

retreat; retrograde (move back)

back down; back off; back up (move backwards from a certain position)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

withdrawal (the act of withdrawing)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Withdraw from active participation

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Synonyms:

retire; withdraw

Context example:

He retired from chess

Hypernyms (to "withdraw" is one way to...):

cease; discontinue; give up; lay off; quit; stop (put an end to a state or an activity)

Verb group:

retire; withdraw (lose interest)

bow out; withdraw (retire gracefully)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "withdraw"):

drop out (withdraw from established society, especially because of disillusion with conventional values)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

withdrawal (formal separation from an alliance or federation)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Release from something that holds fast, connects, or entangles

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

disengage; withdraw

Context example:

disengage the gears

Hypernyms (to "withdraw" is one way to...):

let go; let go of; release; relinquish (release, as from one's grip)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "withdraw"):

unlock (set free or release)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Something is ----ing PP
Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

withdrawal (the act of withdrawing)

withdrawer (a drug addict who is discontinuing the use of narcotics)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Cause to be returned

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Synonyms:

call back; call in; recall; withdraw

Context example:

The manufacturer tried to call back the spoilt yoghurt

Hypernyms (to "withdraw" is one way to...):

take (take into one's possession)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "withdraw"):

decommission (withdraw from active service)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 5

Meaning:

Take back what one has said

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

swallow; take back; unsay; withdraw

Context example:

He swallowed his words

Hypernyms (to "withdraw" is one way to...):

disown; renounce; repudiate (cast off)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

withdrawal (a retraction of a previously held position)

Sense 6

Meaning:

Keep away from others

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

seclude; sequester; sequestrate; withdraw

Context example:

He sequestered himself in his study to write a book

Hypernyms (to "withdraw" is one way to...):

insulate; isolate (place or set apart)

Verb group:

adjourn; retire; withdraw (break from a meeting or gathering)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "withdraw"):

lose (withdraw, as from reality)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

withdrawal (the act of withdrawing)

withdrawer (an individualist who withdraws from social interaction)

Sense 7

Meaning:

Break from a meeting or gathering

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Synonyms:

adjourn; retire; withdraw

Context example:

The men retired to the library

Hypernyms (to "withdraw" is one way to...):

close; close down; close up; fold; shut down (cease to operate or cause to cease operating)

"Withdraw" entails doing...:

assemble; foregather; forgather; gather; meet (collect in one place)

Verb group:

seclude; sequester; sequestrate; withdraw (keep away from others)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "withdraw"):

prorogue (adjourn by royal prerogative; without dissolving the legislative body)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

withdrawal (the act of withdrawing)

Sense 8

Meaning:

Retire gracefully

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Synonyms:

bow out; withdraw

Context example:

He bowed out when he realized he could no longer handle the demands of the chairmanship

Hypernyms (to "withdraw" is one way to...):

retire (go into retirement; stop performing one's work or withdraw from one's position)

Verb group:

retire; withdraw (withdraw from active participation)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Derivation:

withdrawal (the act of withdrawing)

Sense 9

Meaning:

Remove (a commodity) from (a supply source)

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Synonyms:

draw; draw off; take out; withdraw

Context example:

The doctors drew medical supplies from the hospital's emergency bank

Hypernyms (to "withdraw" is one way to...):

remove; take; take away; withdraw (remove something concrete, as by lifting, pushing, or taking off, or remove something abstract)

Verb group:

draw; take out (take liquid out of a container or well)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "withdraw"):

check out; cheque (withdraw money by writing a check)

dip (take a small amount from)

divert; hive off (withdraw (money) and move into a different location, often secretly and with dishonest intentions)

overdraw (draw more money from than is available)

tap (draw from or dip into to get something)

disinvest; divest (reduce or dispose of; cease to hold (an investment))

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s PP

Antonym:

deposit (put into a bank account)

Derivation:

withdrawal (the act of taking out money or other capital)

withdrawer (a depositor who withdraws funds previously deposited)

Sense 10

Meaning:

Lose interest

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Synonyms:

retire; withdraw

Context example:

he retired from life when his wife died

Hypernyms (to "withdraw" is one way to...):

fatigue; jade; pall; tire; weary (lose interest or become bored with something or somebody)

Verb group:

retire; withdraw (withdraw from active participation)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "withdraw"):

back down; back off; bow out; chicken out; pull out (remove oneself from an obligation)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

withdrawal (avoiding emotional involvement)

withdrawer (an individualist who withdraws from social interaction)

Sense 11

Meaning:

Make a retreat from an earlier commitment or activity

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

back away; back out; crawfish; crawfish out; pull back; pull in one's horns; retreat; withdraw

Context example:

The aggressive investment company pulled in its horns

Verb group:

draw back; move back; pull away; pull back; recede; retire; retreat; withdraw (pull back or move away or backward)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Derivation:

withdrawal (the act of withdrawing)

withdrawer (a student who withdraws from the educational institution in which he or she was enrolled)

withdrawer (a contestant who withdraws from competition)

Sense 12

Meaning:

Remove something concrete, as by lifting, pushing, or taking off, or remove something abstract

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

remove; take; take away; withdraw

Context example:

This machine withdraws heat from the environment

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "withdraw"):

depilate; epilate (remove body hair)

harvest (remove from a culture or a living or dead body, as for the purposes of transplantation)

tip (remove the tip from)

stem (remove the stem from)

extirpate (surgically remove (an organ))

enucleate (remove (a tumor or eye) from an enveloping sac or cover)

exenterate (remove the contents of (an organ))

enucleate (remove the nucleus from (a cell))

decorticate (remove the cortex of (an organ))

bail (remove (water) from a vessel with a container)

disinvest; divest; strip; undress (remove (someone's or one's own) clothes)

ablate (remove an organ or bodily structure)

clean; pick (remove unwanted substances from, such as feathers or pits)

clean (remove shells or husks from)

fan; winnow (blow away or off with a current of air)

pick (remove in small bits)

clear; clear up (free (the throat) by making a rasping sound)

muck (remove muck, clear away muck, as in a mine)

lift (remove from a surface)

lift (take off or away by decreasing)

lift (remove from a seedbed or from a nursery)

rip off; tear away; tear off (remove by pulling or ripping violently and forcefully)

take off (take away or remove)

take away; take out (take out or remove)

pit; stone (remove the pits from)

seed (remove the seeds from)

unhinge (remove the hinges from)

shuck (remove the shucks from)

hull (remove the hulls from)

crumb (remove crumbs from)

chip away; chip away at (remove or withdraw gradually:)

burl (remove the burls from cloth)

knock out (destroy or break forcefully)

clean; scavenge (remove unwanted substances from)

hypophysectomise; hypophysectomize (remove the pituitary glands)

degas (remove gas from)

husk; shell (remove the husks from)

bur; burr (remove the burrs from)

clear away; clear off (remove from sight)

flick (remove with a flick (of the hand))

dismantle; strip (take off or remove)

strip (remove a constituent from a liquid)

clear (remove)

defang (remove the fangs from)

bone; debone (remove the bones from)

disembowel; draw; eviscerate (remove the entrails of)

shell (remove from its shell or outer covering)

shuck (remove from the shell)

detusk; tusk (remove the tusks of animals)

dehorn (prevent the growth of horns of certain animals)

scalp (remove the scalp of)

weed (clear of weeds)

condense (remove water from)

bail out; bale out (remove (water) from a boat by dipping and throwing over the side)

leach; strip (remove substances from by a percolating liquid)

decalcify (remove calcium or lime from)

detoxicate; detoxify (remove poison from)

de-ionate (remove ions from)

de-iodinate (remove iodine from)

decarbonise; decarbonize; decarburise; decarburize; decoke (remove carbon from (an engine))

delouse (free of lice)

ream (remove by making a hole or by boring)

brush (remove with or as if with a brush)

wash; wash away; wash off; wash out (remove by the application of water or other liquid and soap or some other cleaning agent)

desorb (remove from a surface on which it is adsorbed)

pull (take away)

demineralise; demineralize (remove the minerals or salts from)

eliminate (remove (an unknown variable) from two or more equations)

clear out; drive out; expectorate (clear out the chest and lungs)

carve out (remove from a larger whole)

defuse (remove the triggering device from)

dredge (remove with a power shovel, usually from a bottom of a body of water)

wear away; wear off (diminish, as by friction)

amputate; cut off (remove surgically)

eviscerate; resect (surgically remove a part of a structure or an organ)

cream; cream off; skim; skim off (remove from the surface)

strip (remove the surface from)

strip (strip the cured leaves from)

descale; scale (remove the scales from)

circumcise (cut the foreskin off male babies or teenage boys)

undock (take (a ship) out of a dock)

cut into; delve; dig; turn over (turn up, loosen, or remove earth)

dig; excavate; hollow (remove the inner part or the core of)

lift out; scoop; scoop out; scoop up; take up (take out or up with or as if with a scoop)

draw out; extract; pull; pull out; pull up; rip out; take out; tear out (remove, usually with some force or effort; also used in an abstract sense)

take out (remove something from a container or an enclosed space)

unstring (remove the strings from)

string (remove the stringy parts of)

wipe away; wipe off (remove by wiping)

bear away; bear off; carry away; carry off; take away (remove from a certain place, environment, or mental or emotional state; transport into a new location or state)

unveil (remove the cover from)

take out; unpack (remove from its packing)

disburden; unburden (take the burden off; remove the burden from)

empty (remove)

discharge (remove the charge from)

offsaddle; unsaddle (remove the saddle from)

cast; cast off; drop; shake off; shed; throw; throw away; throw off (get rid of)

dislodge; free (remove or force out from a position)

clean (remove while making clean)

aspirate; draw out; suck out (remove by suction)

cancel; delete (remove or make invisible)

lade; laden; ladle (remove with or as if with a ladle)

spoon (scoop up or take up with a spoon)

gut (remove the guts of)

head (remove the head of)

draw away; draw off; pull off (remove by drawing or pulling)

clean; strip (remove all contents or possession from, or empty completely)

draw; take out (take liquid out of a container or well)

draw; get out; pull; pull out; take out (bring, take, or pull out of a container or from under a cover)

leach (cause (a liquid) to leach or percolate)

draw (cause to flow)

draw; draw off; take out; withdraw (remove (a commodity) from (a supply source))

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Somebody ----s something from somebody
Somebody ----s somebody PP

Derivation:

withdrawal (the act of withdrawing)

 Context examples 

Three people withdrew from the study because of adverse effects.

(Preschoolers benefit from peanut allergy therapy, NIH)

And as the girl withdrew she added, smiling, "Fortunately, I have it in my power to supply deficiencies for this once."

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

When I saw that he was absent, I withdrew at once.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

As her eyes fell on him, his seemed to be withdrawn from her.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

Fluid withdrawn from a body cavity, cyst, or tumor.

(Aspirate, NCI Thesaurus)

“The first Anarchist,” Maud laughed, rising and preparing to withdraw to her state-room.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

It is necessary that you should withdraw.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Upon this, the hurgo and his train withdrew, with much civility and cheerful countenances.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

The wolves, which had withdrawn to a safe distance, followed in their wake, leaving us alone.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

He has no business to withdraw the attention of my partner from me.

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)