retire
1 Americanverb (used without object)
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to withdraw from one's career, occupation, or office, usually because of age.
to retire at the age of sixty.
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to withdraw, or go away or apart, to a place of privacy, shelter, or seclusion.
He retired to his study.
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to go to bed.
He retired at midnight.
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to fall back or retreat in an orderly fashion and according to plan, as from battle, an untenable position, danger, etc.
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to withdraw or remove oneself.
After announcing the guests, the butler retired.
verb (used with object)
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to withdraw from circulation by taking up and paying, as bonds, bills, etc.; redeem.
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to withdraw or lead back (troops, ships, etc.), as from battle or danger; retreat.
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to remove from active service or the usual field of activity, as an army officer or business executive.
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to withdraw (a machine, ship, etc.) permanently from its normal service, usually for scrapping; take out of use.
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Baseball, Cricket. to put out or end the offensive play of (a batter, runner, side, etc.).
The pitcher’s on fire, retiring the last five hitters with strikeouts.
With two runners stranded on base, the side is retired.
noun
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a place of withdrawal; retreat.
a cool retire from summer's heat.
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retirement or withdrawal, as from worldly matters or the company of others.
noun
plural
retirésverb
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(also tr) to give up or to cause (a person) to give up his work, a post, etc, esp on reaching pensionable age (in Britain and Australia usually 65 for men, 60 for women)
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to go away, as into seclusion, for recuperation, etc
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to go to bed
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to recede or disappear
the sun retired behind the clouds
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to withdraw from a sporting contest, esp because of injury
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(also tr) to pull back (troops, etc) from battle or an exposed position or (of troops, etc) to fall back
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(tr)
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to remove (bills, bonds, shares, etc) from circulation by taking them up and paying for them
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to remove (money) from circulation
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Related Words
See depart.
Other Word Forms
- retirer noun
Etymology
Origin of retire1
First recorded in 1525–35; from Middle French retirer “to withdraw, pull back,” equivalent to re- re- + tirer “to draw”
Origin of retiré1
< French, past participle of retirer to retire
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.
David Compton, a 71-year old retired family physician, left his practice 10 years ago after having trouble concentrating.
For every five construction workers who retire, only one new worker is entering the field.
Having retired from football in 2024, Murray is now an award-winning keynote speaker.
From BBC
Dr. Daniels, 76, is a retired British psychiatrist who has written more than two dozen books—most of them under the nom de plume Theodore Dalrymple.
Help Me Retire: I’m 59, earning six figures, but my daughter wants me to retire to watch my future grandkid for a year.
From MarketWatch
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.
