retain
Americanverb (used with object)
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retains,
present (3rd person singular)
-
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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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:
Hours later, he took the stage in Michigan alongside Abdul El-Sayed, a candidate with a rising profile who Democrats hope can help the party retain a US Senate seat.
From Barron's ● Oct. 29, 2026
As it moves upward, the surrounding pressure decreases, reducing the amount of oxygen the molten rock can retain.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 29, 2026
It also means that this might be a different kind of lending boom from the one leading up to the 2008 crisis, when banks were far more willing to retain direct risks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026
The Gunners were knocked out of the League Cup and so were Chelsea which means City will continue their quest to retain their trophy, coming up against Bradford in the quarter-finals.
From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026
These learners tend to think in pictures and need to create vivid mental images to retain information.
From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin
Cash flow represents the money a company retains after paying for operations and investments, meaning Alphabet is now spending more money than it is bringing in.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
Despite not receiving the endorsement of the faculty guild, Buelna retains the support of a number of faculty members, including the president of the academic senate, Angela Echeverri.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 25, 2026
"It possesses bird-like pelvic and hindlimb structures yet retains the specialized predatory foot and teeth of a small meat-eating dinosaur. It shows us that early bird evolution was far more complicated than we previously realized."
From Science Daily ● Oct. 24, 2026
He retains strong support among a significant section of Serbia's population.
From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026
So another cycle takes place — a cycle within a cycle: a molecule of ATP gives up one of its phosphate groups and retains only two, becoming a diphosphate molecule, ADP.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
From next year, mayors will also receive a 20% share of locally retained business rates.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026
Trian said at the time that it had retained advisers to determine how to improve returns for Wendy’s investors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026
Anthropic stored Elvis’ songs “into a permanent, general-purpose central library intended to be retained indefinitely, from which subsets were selected and copied again to train the next generation of Claude models,” the lawsuit contends.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 25, 2026
His sister, Darline Graham, who was appointed to fill his seat, retained most of his senior staff, including those who dealt with Navatek.
From Salon ● Oct. 20, 2026
“They were useless, could not keep a single thing in order. I retained only the cooks. Haven’t had a dinner in quite some time, but at least they know what they’re doing.”
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
Starbucks sold its majority stake in its China business, retaining a 40% interest and continuing to own and license its brand via a joint venture with Boyu Capital.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
England's pursuit of points has led to Warrington winger Matty Ashton retaining his spot on the left.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
On Friday, Moody’s Ratings kept France’s credit rating unchanged at Aa3, assuming France successfully adopts a deficit-reducing budget for 2027, while retaining a negative outlook.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026
Rather than rapidly releasing radioactive substances, the particles appear capable of retaining fission products within their structures.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 23, 2026
At length Darcy spoke, and in a constrained manner said, “Mr. Wickham is blessed with such happy manners as may ensure his making friends—whether he may be equally capable of retaining them, is less certain.”
From "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen
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