adjective
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having given up one's work, office, etc, esp on completion of the normal period of service
a retired headmistress
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( as collective noun ; preceded by the )
the retired
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withdrawn; secluded
a retired life
a retired cottage in the woods
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of retired
Explanation
Someone who's retired has stopped working permanently. A retired teacher who misses his job might volunteer at an after-school program. Most retired people in the U.S. are over the age of 65, although some are able to retire earlier, and some continue working well into their 70s or 80s. Some jobs provide pensions, or partial salaries, to retired workers, and other retired people take advantage of government-provided benefits like Social Security. To retire means "to stop working," but also "to retreat or withdraw," and in the 1500s, retired meant "separated or withdrawn from society."
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.
Rook, the daughter of retired Old Bailey judge Peter Rook, was the co-founder of a London-based social enterprise called MamaSuze, which supports refugee and migrant women with art and drama activities and workshops.
From BBC • May 6, 2026
The specimen was first uncovered by a retired chicken farmer, who had sourced rocks from a nearby quarry to build a garden retaining wall.
From Science Daily • May 6, 2026
He’s a retired wrestler who comes back into her life after his other family kicks him to the curb, and reasons that they’re both entertainers plying their craft to make ends meet.
From Salon • May 4, 2026
“The Secret Service’s layers of protection are meant to act as trip wires to catch people,” said retired Secret Service agent Donald Mihalek.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 3, 2026
Before I left Osage County to return home, I stopped to see Mary Jo Webb, a retired teacher who had spent decades investigating the suspicious death of her grandfather during the Reign of Terror.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
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.
