Meanings
- not comparableCapable of being retracted; retractile.
He says the company's FLIRT design, in particular its retractable steps, provides greater accessibility, while the technology is highly innovative and reliable.
2021 May 19, David Clough, “Swiss precision meets UK growth”, in RAIL, number 931, page 572 more examples
Retractable steps and handrails are provided on each side of the cars. The steps, which are under the control of the guard, are operated by hand levers in the entrance vestibule.
1952 September, “Modernised Pull-and-Push Trains”, in Railway Magazine, page 617Features such as trackless doors, mercury-type door interlocks, roof-mounted door fault indicator lights, rubber window glazing, improved retractable shoegear and a modified electro-pneumatic brake system designed to facilitate maintenance and improve reliability, which have proved their worth on the prototype trains, are continued in the new stock.
1960 February, “The first of London's new Piccadilly Line trains is delivered”, in Trains Illustrated, page 94
plural retractables
- A retractable pen.
Somewhere in the cosmos, he said, […] there was also a planet entirely given over to Biro life forms. […] Veet Voogajig suddenly claimed to have found this planet, and to have worked there for a while driving a limousine for a family of cheap green retractables […]
1979 October 12, Douglas Adams, chapter 21, in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, London: Pan Books, →ISBN
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectivecapable of being retracted
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Translations
Catalan retractable
- retractablecapable of being retracted
Chinese Mandarin 伸缩自如的
- 伸缩自如的capable of being retracted
Finnish sisäänvedettävä
- sisäänvedettäväcapable of being retracted
French rétractable, rétractile
- rétractablecapable of being retracted
- rétractilecapable of being retracted
German einziehbar
- einziehbarcapable of being retracted
Greek ανοιγοκλειόμενος
- ανοιγοκλειόμενος (anoigokleiómenos)capable of being retracted
Italian retrattile, rientrabile
- retrattilecapable of being retracted
- rientrabilecapable of being retracted
- retraibilecapable of being retracted
- ritrattabilecapable of being retracted
Russian втя́гивающийся, убира́ющийся
- втя́гивающийся (vtjágivajuščijsja)capable of being retracted
- убира́ющийся (ubirájuščijsja)capable of being retracted
Spanish escamoteable
- escamoteablecapable of being retracted
Swedish infällbar, indragbar
- infällbarcapable of being retracted
- indragbarcapable of being retracted
Cite this entry
retractable. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/retractable
“retractable.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/retractable. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “retractable,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/retractable.
Source: retractable on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.