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

• nonretirement
  noun
• postretirement
  adjective
• preretirement
  adjective
• semiretirement
  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

In the most recent Employee Benefit Research Institute Retirement Confidence Survey, just 25% of retirees said they were very confident they would have enough money to live comfortably throughout retirement.

From MarketWatch • May 14, 2026

Retirement sales fell to 1.1 billion pounds from 1.8 billion pounds, it said Thursday.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026

Retirement will give Staniforth a chance to reflect on how much has changed since she made her Sunderland debut 17 years ago.

From BBC • May 7, 2026

A partner at Hall Benefits Law, Krause specializes in the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act, executive compensation, employee benefits, fiduciary and tax matters.

From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026

And now opportunity was the word the social worker was using when he informed the boy that he had arranged for him to spend the summer volunteering at Shady Glen Retirement Home.

From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman

Related Words

• evacuation
• pullout
• withdrawal