retain

[ ri-teyn ]
See synonyms for: retainretainedretaining on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)
  1. to keep possession of.

  2. to continue to use, practice, etc.: to retain an old custom.

  1. to continue to hold or have: to retain a prisoner in custody; a cloth that retains its color.

  2. to keep in mind; remember.

  3. to hold in place or position.

  4. to engage, especially by payment of a preliminary fee: to retain a lawyer.

  5. 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.

Origin of retain

1
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”

synonym study For retain

1. See keep.

Other words for retain

Opposites for retain

Other words from retain

  • re·tain·a·ble, adjective
  • re·tain·a·bil·i·ty [ri-tey-nuh-bil-i-tee], /rɪˌteɪ nəˈbɪl ɪ ti/, re·tain·a·ble·ness, noun
  • re·tain·ment, noun
  • non·re·tain·a·ble, adjective
  • non·re·tain·ment, noun
  • un·re·tain·a·ble, adjective
  • un·re·tain·ing, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use retain in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for retain

retain

/ (rɪˈteɪn) /


verb(tr)
  1. to keep in one's possession

  2. to be able to hold or contain: soil that retains water

  1. (of a person) to be able to remember (information, facts, etc) without difficulty

  2. to hold in position

  3. to keep for one's future use, as by paying a retainer or nominal charge: to retain one's rooms for the holidays

  4. law to engage the services of (a barrister) by payment of a preliminary fee

  5. (in selling races) to buy back a winner that one owns when it is auctioned after the race

  6. (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

Origin of retain

1
C14: from Old French retenir, from Latin retinēre to hold back, from re- + tenēre to hold

Derived forms of retain

  • retainable, adjective
  • retainment, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012