retirement

American  

[ri-tahyuhr-muhnt] / rɪˈtaɪər mənt /

noun

1. the act of retiring or of leaving one's job, career, or occupation permanently, usually because of age.

   I'm looking forward to my retirement from teaching.

2. the portion of a person's life during which a person is retired.

   What will you do in retirement?

3. a pension or other income on which a retired person lives.

   His retirement is barely enough to pay the rent.

4. the act of retiring, withdrawing, or leaving; the state of being retired.

   After a competitive day on the golf course, she enjoys a quiet retirement to the residents' lounge.

5. removal of something from service or use.

   retirement of the space shuttle fleet.

6. withdrawal of a jury from a courtroom to deliberate in private on a verdict.

7. orderly withdrawal of a military force, according to plan, without pressure from the enemy.

8. withdrawal of securities from the market by a corporation, as through payment at maturity, repurchase, or exchange.

9. withdrawal into privacy or seclusion.

10. privacy or seclusion.

11. a private or secluded place.

12. Baseball, Cricket. the act or instance of the defense putting out or ending the offensive play of a batter, runner, side, etc.

    The retirement of the Brewers in the third inning came only after they scored six more runs.

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adjective

1. noting or pertaining to retirement.

   retirement pay.

retirement British  

/ rɪˈtaɪəmənt /

noun

1. 1. the act of retiring from one's work, office, etc

   2. ( as modifier )

      retirement age

2. the period of being retired from work

   she had many plans for her retirement

3. seclusion from the world; privacy

4. the act of going away or retreating

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• semiretirement
  noun
• postretirement
  adjective
• preretirement
  adjective
• nonretirement
  noun

Etymology

Origin of retirement

First recorded in 1530–40; retire + -ment ( def. )

Explanation

Retirement is when someone stops working, usually after many years, to take a break or start a new occupation. In order to consider retirement, a worker must usually have saved enough money to stop working. This most commonly happens after years at a job, and retirement is often a cause of celebration. Sometimes, as in "early retirement," a much younger person is able to stop working for pay — in some cases, because she's become wealthy from a business venture. The Middle French root word is retirer, "to withdraw."

Example Sentences

Social Security trustees report on the combined fund of Social Security’s retirement and disability insurance programs:

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 9, 2026

Serena Williams made a winning return to tennis after four years in retirement as the American legend partnered Victoria Mboko in a first-round doubles victory at the Queen's Club on Tuesday.

From Barron's • Jun. 9, 2026

If there was no World Cup, it is likely there would have been a retirement by now.

From BBC • Jun. 9, 2026

What if a child born today could start building tax-free retirement wealth immediately, while their peers spend their 20s paying off student loans?

From MarketWatch • Jun. 9, 2026

The dog had ridden in the family's last station wagon, attended my father's retirement party, and celebrated the elections of two Republican presidents.

From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris

Related Words

• evacuation
• pullout
• withdrawal