Plain English Meaning

It is the 'up' setting on the landing gear handle in the cockpit — the position that tells the gear to fold up into the airplane after takeoff.

Full Definition

The setting of the landing gear selector handle that commands the landing gear to move from extended (down) to stowed (up) inside the airframe. In the context of emergency gear extension procedures, the retract position is the normal selector position that must typically be moved to the down or extend position before any emergency extension method is attempted.

Context Anchor

Seen in landing gear system descriptions and emergency gear extension checklists, where the gear selector may need to be in a specific position before using an alternate extension method.