Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To take back or away; remove.
  • intransitive verb To cause to leave or return.
  • intransitive verb To remove (money) from an account.
  • intransitive verb To turn away (one's gaze, for example).
  • intransitive verb To draw aside.
  • intransitive verb To remove from consideration or participation.
  • intransitive verb To recall or retract.
  • intransitive verb To move or draw back; retire.
  • intransitive verb To leave or return, as from a military position.
  • intransitive verb To remove oneself from active participation.
  • intransitive verb To become detached from social or emotional involvement.
  • intransitive verb To recall or remove a motion from consideration in parliamentary procedure.
  • intransitive verb To discontinue the use of an addictive substance.
  • intransitive verb To adjust physiologically and mentally to this discontinuation.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To draw back, aside, or away; take back; remove.
  • To recall; retract: as, to withdraw a charge, a threat, or a vow.
  • To divert, as from use or from some accustomed channel.
  • To take out; subtract.
  • The word is often used reflexively.
  • To retire; go away; step backward or aside; retreat.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • intransitive verb To retire; to retreat; to quit a company or place; to go away.
  • transitive verb To take back or away, as what has been bestowed or enjoyed; to draw back; to cause to move away or retire.
  • transitive verb To take back; to recall or retract.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb transitive To pull (something) back, aside, or away.
  • verb transitive To take back (a comment, etc).
  • verb transitive To remove, to stop providing (one's support, etc).
  • verb transitive To extract (money from an account).
  • verb intransitive To retreat.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb withdraw from active participation
  • verb retire gracefully
  • verb cause to be returned
  • verb pull back or move away or backward
  • verb make a retreat from an earlier commitment or activity
  • verb remove (a commodity) from (a supply source)
  • verb lose interest
  • verb release from something that holds fast, connects, or entangles
  • verb break from a meeting or gathering
  • verb take back what one has said
  • verb remove something concrete, as by lifting, pushing, or taking off, or remove something abstract
  • verb keep away from others

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English withdrawen : with, away from; see with + drawen, to pull; see draw.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English withdrawen ("to draw away, draw back"), from with- ("away, back") + drawen ("to draw"). More at with-, draw.

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