adjective
- directed or turned backward or downward
Usage: botanical; technical
Examples
- The plant’s retrorse hairs help it cling to surfaces.
- Retrorse barbs on the fishing hook prevent the fish from escaping.
- The botanist noted the retrorse spines along the stem.
- Retrorse teeth on the saw blade cut only on the pull stroke.
- The seed pod had retrorse bristles that caught on animal fur.
- Microscopic examination revealed retrorse projections on the leaf surface.