noun

• A curtailment or reduction.
• (specifically) An act of reducing expenses; economizing.
• (specifically) An act of terminating the employment of a worker or making an employee redundant, often to reduce expenses; a layoff.
• (by extension) Withdrawal.
• (military, dated) A defensive work constructed within a fortification to make it more defensible by allowing defenders to retreat into and fight from it even after the enemy has taken the outer work.
• (especially politics) The adoption of a defensive and hostile posture; refusal to compromise, radicalization.