withdraw
- 01 B1 Intermediate
to take money out of a bank account.
to extract funds from a financial institution or account. Transitive — requires a direct object representing the currency or amount.
Simple“I need to find an ATM so I can withdraw some cash for the market.”
In context“The investor decided to withdraw his capital from the venture after the quarterly report revealed significant structural deficits.”
- 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
to move something back or take it away from a place.
to pull or draw something back from a fixed position or to remove support or presence.
Simple“The company decided to withdraw the product from shops because of a safety problem.”
In context“The general ordered the troops to withdraw from the border to avoid further escalating the diplomatic crisis.”
- 03 C1 Advanced
to say that something you said before is no longer true or official.
to formally retract a statement, accusation, or offer. Often used in legal or official contexts.
Simple“The witness was asked to withdraw his comment after the lawyer complained.”
In context“Under intense pressure from the board, the spokesperson was forced to withdraw her previous remarks regarding the merger.”
- 04 B2 Upper Intermediate
to leave a room or a group of people, often to be alone or go somewhere quiet.
to move away from a social situation or a specific location to a more private one. Often takes the preposition 'to' or 'from'.
Simple“After dinner, the guests withdrew to the garden for coffee.”
In context“Feeling overwhelmed by the noise of the gala, she quietly withdrew to the library to recover her composure.”
- 05 C2 Proficiency
to stop taking a drug or alcohol that your body is used to.
to cease the consumption of an addictive substance and experience the resulting physiological distress.
Simple“It can be very dangerous to withdraw from certain medications without a doctor's help.”
In context“The clinical protocol ensures that patients withdraw from the heavy sedative gradually to minimize the risk of seizures.”
Usage withdraw support · withdraw troops
“Hezbollah has rejected the deal, saying it will not agree until Israel withdraws from Lebanon.”
“On Sunday, Kushner had met Hamas’s political chief in Egypt, where Hamas insisted Israel must first withdraw its troops from the 60% of Gaza that Israel occupies.”
PIE word *wí From Middle English withdrawen, withdrauen (“to depart, leave, move away; (reflexive) to go away; (reflexive) to leave someone’s service; (often reflexive) to draw back or retreat (from a battlefield or dangerous place), withdraw; to abandon, desert; to go, go forth; to move; of the sea, water, etc.: to (cause to) ebb, recede, subside; to disappear; to slacken, wane; (often reflexive) to cease, stop; to desist, refrain; (reflexive) to go back on, recant; to avoid, eschew; to bring under control, contain, suppress; to curb, curtail; to delay, put off; to demur, refuse; to carry or take away, deprive of, remove; to contract, draw away or in, retract; to deny, refuse; to revoke; to withhold; to divert; to separate; to adopt, borrow, imitate”) [and other forms], from with- (prefix meaning ‘away; back’) + drawen, drauen (“to drag, pull, tow, tug, draw [and other senses]”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰregʰ- (“to drag, pull; to run”)); see further at with- and draw. The English word is analysable as with- + draw.
From Middle English withdrawe (“act of stopping a judicial proceeding”), from withdrawen, withdrauen (verb): see etymology 1.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.