adjective
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having given up one's work, office, etc, esp on completion of the normal period of service
a retired headmistress
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( as collective noun ; preceded by the )
the retired
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withdrawn; secluded
a retired life
a retired cottage in the woods
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of retired
Explanation
Someone who's retired has stopped working permanently. A retired teacher who misses his job might volunteer at an after-school program. Most retired people in the U.S. are over the age of 65, although some are able to retire earlier, and some continue working well into their 70s or 80s. Some jobs provide pensions, or partial salaries, to retired workers, and other retired people take advantage of government-provided benefits like Social Security. To retire means "to stop working," but also "to retreat or withdraw," and in the 1500s, retired meant "separated or withdrawn from society."
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.
In Pico-Union, retired airline attendant and interpreter Aurora Corona has seen some neighborhood improvements of late.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2026
The family returned to Australia when Peter retired and Max was still a toddler.
From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026
Army for more than three decades and retired from the military as a Colonel.
From Salon ● Nov. 5, 2026
“I spent an hour there arguing with myself, dropped a deposit and tried to figure out how to buy it,” said Sprinkle, a 68-year-old retired union pipe fitter who lives in Indiana.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026
Her obituary identifies her as “a retired secretary who had worked as an usher.”
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
