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withdrawn; secluded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 To retire means "to stop working," but also "to retreat or withdraw," and in the 1500s, retired meant "separated or withdrawn from society."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.
We are in our mid-to-late 60s and are both retired federal employees.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026
He retired from international football in 2004, but was persuaded to return during qualifying for the 2006 World Cup.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
And facts so clean that a satirist would reject them as too on the nose: one six-pack, one dry village, one retired pilot, one $95,000 plane.
From Slate ● Jul. 28, 2026
But the retired Lebanese army general said it would be tough to replicate "in broader and more complex areas", particularly if Hezbollah sticks to its stance.
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
Penelope scooped them up and retired to her comfortable chair near the hearth.
From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood
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.
