retain
Americanverb (used with object)
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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
Related Words
See keep.
Other Word Forms
- nonretainable adjective
- nonretainment noun
- retainability noun
- retainable adjective
- retainableness noun
- retainment noun
- unretainable adjective
- unretaining adjective
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”
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.
General Secretary Lam is set to retain his post as Vietnam's top leader, according to sources briefed on party deliberations.
From Barron's
First, Denmark could retain Greenland, while the U.S. taps the rights it already has under a 1951 treaty to significantly increase its military presence.
From Barron's
First, Denmark could retain Greenland, while the U.S. taps the rights it already has under a 1951 treaty to significantly increase its military presence.
From Barron's
They are currently nine matches without a victory, their latest defeat arriving last Saturday against non-league Macclesfield as their efforts to retain the FA Cup came to an embarrassing end.
From BBC
Court records did not note whether he has retained counsel.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
