Your English: Collocations: withdraw

The verb withdraw is used in a number of different ways. ‘Developers have withdrawn plans for a ski centre at an old quarry in North Wales’, means that a planning application was submitted but has now been abandoned. 

You can withdraw money, cash or savings from a bank or a cash machine. Public bodies or companies can withdraw (in the sense of stop providing) funding, subsidies or sponsorship, as in 'Public funding is being withdrawn from the research project'.

You can also withdraw your support for something, as in ‘The opposition has withdrawn its support for the government’s defence policies'.

Defective goods can be withdrawn from sale, meaning that they are taken off the market, as in ‘The drug had to be withdrawn due to a number of side-effects’.

Services can also be withdrawn, meaning that they are no longer provided, as in ‘Bus services in many rural areas have been withdrawn’. You can also withdraw your labour, meaning that you refuse to work because of a disagreement about pay, working conditions and so on, as in 'The right to withdraw labour is a basic principle of trade unionism’.

With the meaning of to say that something you said earlier is not true, especially when you want people to forget that you said it, you can withdraw a remark, an objection or an allegation, e.g. ‘I asked him to withdraw his remarks and apologize’.

Finally, if you withdraw an invitation or an offer, it is no longer available, as in ‘The controversial politician’s invitation to address the meeting has been withdrawn’.