retain
Americanverb (used with object)
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to keep possession of.
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to continue to use, practice, etc..
to retain an old custom.
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to continue to hold or have.
to retain a prisoner in custody; a cloth that retains its color.
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to keep in mind; remember.
- Antonyms:
- forget
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to hold in place or position.
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to engage, especially by payment of a preliminary fee.
to retain a lawyer.
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Medicine/Medical. to keep in the body, especially abnormally; fail to eliminate.
I was referred to a specialty clinic and they discovered that I was retaining urine.
verb
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to keep in one's possession
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to be able to hold or contain
soil that retains water
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(of a person) to be able to remember (information, facts, etc) without difficulty
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to hold in position
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to keep for one's future use, as by paying a retainer or nominal charge
to retain one's rooms for the holidays
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law to engage the services of (a barrister) by payment of a preliminary fee
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(in selling races) to buy back a winner that one owns when it is auctioned after the race
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(of racehorse trainers) to pay an advance fee to (a jockey) so as to have prior or exclusive claims upon his services throughout the season
Related Words
See keep.
Other Word Forms
- nonretainable adjective
- nonretainment noun
- retainability noun
- retainable adjective
- retainableness noun
- retainment noun
- unretainable adjective
- unretaining adjective
Etymology
Origin of retain
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English reteinen, from Old French retenir, from Latin retinēre “to hold back, hold fast,” equivalent to re- re- + -tinēre, combining form of tenēre “to hold”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Malinin had been bidding for a second gold after helping the USA retain their team title, having competed in both the short programme and the free skating in that event.
From Barron's
Jofra Archer retains the new ball duties despite conceding 90 runs from his eight overs in the two matches in Mumbai.
From Barron's
Even young startups are pursuing tender offers, as demand surges for private artificial-intelligence stocks and founders recognize that such deals are crucial to retaining talent.
Unlike WhatsApp, Max appears to lack end-to-end encryption, meaning messages are not scrambled while travelling between the reader and sender and could possibly be retained by the state.
From Barron's
Scottish salmon has retained its position as the UK's biggest food export, while exports of Scotch whisky have dropped, according to new figures.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
