an empty area or space; "the huge desert voids"; "the emptiness of outer space"; "without their support he'll be ruling in a vacuum"
containing nothing; "the earth was without form, and void"
clear (a room, house, place) of occupants or empty or clear (a place or receptacle) of something; "The chemist voided the glass bottle"; "The concert hall was voided of the audience"
marked by quiet and caution and secrecy; taking pains to avoid being observed; "a furtive manner"; "a sneak attack"; "stealthy footsteps"; "a surreptitious glance at his watch"
(military) withdrawal of troops to a more favorable position to escape the enemy's superior forces or after a defeat; "the disorderly retreat of French troops"
(military) a bugle call signaling the lowering of the flag at sunset
(military) a signal to begin a withdrawal from a dangerous position
a place of privacy; a place affording peace and quiet
make a retreat from an earlier commitment or activity; "We'll have to crawfish out from meeting with him"; "He backed out of his earlier promise"; "The aggressive investment company pulled in its horns"
move away, as for privacy; "The Pope retreats to Castelgondolfo every summer"
(sports) a serve that is illegal (e.g., that lands outside the prescribed area); "he served too many double faults"
responsibility for a bad situation or event; "it was John's fault"
(electronics) equipment failure attributable to some defect in a circuit (loose connection or insulation failure or short circuit etc.); "it took much longer to find the fault than to fix it"
(geology) a crack in the earth's crust resulting from the displacement of one side with respect to the other; "they built it right over a geological fault"; "he studied the faulting of the earth's crust"
a state of violent disturbance and disorder (as in politics or social conditions generally); "the industrial revolution was a period of great turbulence"