retain
Americanverb (used with object)
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retains,
present (3rd person singular)
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retained,
past participle, past
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retaining
present participle
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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
Synonym Usage
See keep.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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nonretainmentnoun
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retainabilitynoun
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retainablenessnoun
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retainmentnoun
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nonretainableadjective
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retainableadjective
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unretainableadjective
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unretainingadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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retainsimple
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retainssimple
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have retainedperfect
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has retainedperfect
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am retainingprogressive
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are retainingprogressive
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is retainingprogressive
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have been retainingperfect progressive
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has been retainingperfect progressive
Past
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retainedsimple
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had retainedperfect
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was retainingprogressive
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were retainingprogressive
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had been retainingperfect progressive
Future
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”
Explanation
Retain means to hold on to or keep. People who can retain a lot of information are often mistaken for geniuses, but really they just have very good memories. To retain is to keep or maintain, whether in mind, possession or a certain condition. If you have a great personal assistant, you'll probably want to retain him for as long as you can. If your body is retaining water you might look a little plump. The verbs restrain and detain sound similar, but they mean to keep something by force.
Vocabulary lists containing retain
The Balcony Scene from "Romeo and Juliet"
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Out of My Mind
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List 1
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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.
See Examples For:
“I did not give my consent to any Trustee of my Trust to withhold, defer, or retain my Age-30 Distribution indefinitely,” Reiner said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
Bagehot would recognize the goal: Reduce the encouragement to take risk, known as moral hazard, that offering guarantees in advance creates, but retain the ability to mount a rescue in a crisis.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
As CO2 increases, the body can retain additional bicarbonate to help keep blood pH stable.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 15, 2026
Mothers Matter said the situation was putting a strain on its small team and making it difficult to retain staff and volunteers.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
They were beyond monstrous now, some unable to retain a single shape but melting and re-forming with every step.
From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda
The bank trims its ADR target price to US$11.40 from US$13.00 but retains a buy rating.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
Even now, Cole says she retains "some residual shame" about her condition and wants to live in a world where people can "tic freely" without embarrassment.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
The transaction includes a "collaboration and technology-sharing agreement" that retains Boeing's access to Wisk technology for current and next-generation commercial and defense aircraft, the press release said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026
The company’s reported take rate, a measure of how much money the company retains from the transactions it processes, came in well above what was forecast.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026
If, after whatever matter it has lost to space, a star retains two or three times the mass of the Sun, it ends its life cycle in a startlingly different mode than the Sun.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
The Brewers are the small-market overachievers, who somehow have retained their little-engine-that-could persona despite owning the best regular-season record in baseball last year.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026
"Expansion and straightening cause water to drain away into the North Sea and Baltic Sea even faster, rather than being retained in the surrounding area."
From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026
He won the Portuguese title and Uefa Cup in 2003, then retained the league title and won the Champions League in the following season.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
Rates have since fallen, but money-market funds, which now yield 3.49% on average, according to Crane Data, have retained their appeal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
Despite living in town a full ten years she retained the look of a farmer’s wife: stout, faded, and wind worn.
From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson
After commanding the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, Washington voluntarily surrendered his military commission to Congress rather than retaining control of the army.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
The vegetables should become deeply soft and jammy while retaining a little texture; you are not trying to cook them into a completely smooth paste.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
"For several years the two popes and their supporters fought for control of Rome, with Honorius retaining powerful backing from the Holy Roman Empire and attracting support elsewhere in northern Europe."
From Science Daily ● Aug. 11, 2026
“The transaction strengthens Air Canada’s financial position by unlocking value from Aeroplan while retaining full operational control,” said John Di Bert, the airline’s chief financial officer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
He interpreted Bodin, quite wrongly, as advocating a very large sphere of earth floating in a sphere of water, thus retaining the core principles of a traditional Aristotelian argument.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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.
