a person or thing that retracts. Anatomy. a muscle that retracts an organ or protruded part. Surgery. an instrument or appliance for drawing back an impeding part, as the edge of an incision. a mechanism, device, or the like that regulates retraction: to adjust the retractor on a seat belt.
The Moon orbits Earth in the prograde direction and completes one revolution relative to the stars in approximately 27.323 days (a sidereal month). Earth and the Moon orbit about their barycentre (common center of mass), which lies about 4,600 km (2,900 mi) from Earth's center (about 34 of the radius of Earth).
It takes the Moon about 29 days to make one orbit about the Earth. In fact, the word month and moon have the same root in English (and just about every other language too.) Also, the Moon's orbit is in the same direction as the Earth's rotation: counter-clockwise when viewed above the plane of the ecliptic.