retained
Americanadjective
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not lost, destroyed, released, sold, or given away; kept.
The vendor overvalued both the sold 1,790 acres and the retained 566 acres of Green Meadows.
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kept in use or practice; continued or preserved.
We are proud of the retained traditions of entrepreneurship of our ancestors, their respectful and careful attitude to land and craft.
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(of something perceived or learned) remembered or kept in mind.
They get taught it in basic training, but without constant practice, land navigation is not a retained skill for the average soldier.
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engaged for service, often by payment of a preliminary fee.
To apply for this opportunity in confidence, send your resume and remuneration details to the retained consultants, Kirk & Paulson Consulting Ltd., for an initial interview.
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kept in check or held in place; held back.
On completion of the dam, the retained water was diverted for irrigation via two canals.
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Medicine/Medical. kept in the body, especially abnormally; not expelled or eliminated.
Three weeks after delivery I was back in the hospital, seriously ill and having a D&C to remove a retained placenta.
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of retained
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.
Under the proposal, it is not certain whether the current number of subsidized child-care spaces, about 366,700, can be retained.
From Los Angeles Times • May 14, 2026
But it retained grants involving Western European subjects.
From Slate • May 14, 2026
In the small federal territory of Puducherry, a former French enclave in southeastern India, a coalition government including the BJP retained power.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 6, 2026
The breakaway league also announced this week it has retained Ducera Partners LLC as its investment banking advisor to help secure long-term investment partners.
From BBC • May 5, 2026
It seemed to him that he had spent his life in a worthless and senseless maimer; he retained nothing vital, nothing in any way precious or worth while.
From "Siddhartha" by Hermann Hesse
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.
