made/beat a hasty retreat

phrase

: to leave quickly
He made/beat a hasty retreat when he realized he had entered the wrong office.

Examples of made/beat a hasty retreat in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The Second Emu War After a week of frustration, the three-man army beat a hasty retreat. — Tom Hawking, Popular Science, 25 Feb. 2026 Authorities said Robinson allegedly sniped Kirk from a position on top of the Sorensen Student Center, several hundred feet away from him, and then made a hasty retreat into a nearby neighborhood. — Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 12 Sep. 2025 The perpetrators, a group of Irish Republican Army foot soldiers, beat a hasty retreat for a small village, Glencolmcille in County Donegal. — Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times, 30 Mar. 2024 The soldiers loosed a volley or two of musket fire at the mass of agitated native inhabitants and made a hasty retreat to their longboat. — Adam Goodheart, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 Sep. 2023 One recent morning, the Buhay’s crew was sent on a mission to bust Russian fortifications in the countryside areas near the only highway the Ukrainians can use to enter Bakhmut — or beat a hasty retreat. — Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 10 Apr. 2023

Browse Nearby Words

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Cite this Entry

“Made/beat a hasty retreat.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/made%2Fbeat%20a%20hasty%20retreat. Accessed 31 Jul. 2026.

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