retort - WordReference.com Dictionary of English

WordReference.com English Dictionary

retort:

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Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
retort1

▶verb

1 say something sharp, angry, or witty in answer to a remark or accusation.

2 archaic repay (an insult or injury).

▶noun a sharp, angry, or witty reply.

– origin C15: from L. retort-, retorquere ‘twist back’.

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
retort2

▶noun

1 a container or furnace for carrying out a chemical process on a large or industrial scale.

2 historical a glass container with a long neck, used in distilling liquids and other chemical operations.

▶verb heat in a retort.

– origin C17: from Fr. retorte, from med. L. retorta, fem. past part. of retorquere ‘twist back’ (with ref. to the long recurved neck of the laboratory container).

'retort' also found in these Oxford entries:

basic oxygen process - Bessemer process - converter - lip - rejoin - retortion - Roland - sally

Forum discussions with the word(s) "retort" in the title:

There is a retort from the leisure set about harried business travellers
to retort

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