To retort means to reply angrily to someone. Was he afraid, he was asked. `Afraid of what?' he retorted Others retort that strong central power is a dangerous thing in Russia. Retort is also a noun. His sharp retort clearly made an impact. to reply quickly, in an angry or humorous way (past participle of retorquere , from torquere )
an advanced kiln adapted for the extraction of charcoal by-products These replaced small portable kilns but were made redundant by the competition from oil by-products
A container in which material is subjected to high temperatures as part of an industrial manufacturing process, especially during the smelting and forging of metal
closed vessel used to double distill alcohol as an accessory to a pot still Hot vapor enters the bottom of the retort and heats the liquid in the retort to vaporize the alcohol in the liquid
It is made of different forms and materials for different uses, as a bulb of glass with a curved beak to enter a receiver for general chemical operations, or a cylinder or semicylinder of cast iron for the manufacture of gas in gas works
[ ri-'tort ] (verb.) circa 1557. Latin retortus, past participle of retorquEre, literally, to twist back, hurl back, from re- + torquEre to twist; more at TORTURE.