retire

¹ American  

[ri-tahyuhr] / rɪˈtaɪər /

verb (used without object)

retired, retiring

1. to withdraw from one's career, occupation, or office, usually because of age.

   to retire at the age of sixty.

2. to withdraw, or go away or apart, to a place of privacy, shelter, or seclusion.

   He retired to his study.

3. to go to bed.

   He retired at midnight.

4. to fall back or retreat in an orderly fashion and according to plan, as from battle, an untenable position, danger, etc.

5. to withdraw or remove oneself.

   After announcing the guests, the butler retired.

   Synonyms:

   withdraw, leave

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verb (used with object)

retired, retiring

1. to withdraw from circulation by taking up and paying, as bonds, bills, etc.; redeem.

2. to withdraw or lead back (troops, ships, etc.), as from battle or danger; retreat.

3. to remove from active service or the usual field of activity, as an army officer or business executive.

4. to withdraw (a machine, ship, etc.) permanently from its normal service, usually for scrapping; take out of use.

5. 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

Literary.

1. a place of withdrawal; retreat.

   a cool retire from summer's heat.

2. retirement or withdrawal, as from worldly matters or the company of others.

retiré ² American  

[ruh-tee-rey] / rə tiˈreɪ /

noun

Ballet.

plural

retirés

1. a movement in which the dancer brings one foot to the knee of the supporting leg and then returns it to the fifth position.

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retire British  

/ rɪˈtaɪə /

verb

1. (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)

2. to go away, as into seclusion, for recuperation, etc

3. to go to bed

4. to recede or disappear

   the sun retired behind the clouds

5. to withdraw from a sporting contest, esp because of injury

6. (also tr) to pull back (troops, etc) from battle or an exposed position or (of troops, etc) to fall back

7. (tr)

   1. to remove (bills, bonds, shares, etc) from circulation by taking them up and paying for them

   2. 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 retiré²

< French, past participle of retirer to retire

Example Sentences

Again, demographics are a clue — this time within the professions, as there aren’t enough younger workers in the field to take the place of older ones as they retire.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 3, 2026

For months, the legal world has buzzed with speculation about whether he will retire this summer.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

Even after all of that, he was simply moved back to his previous role in California and allowed to quietly retire.

From Slate • Apr. 3, 2026

A police horse known for wearing custom sunglasses to protect her eyes from the sun due to an eye condition is set to retire.

From BBC • Mar. 31, 2026

The head of the Fellowship Board no longer was Hans Clarke, a kindly biochemist friend of Herman’s, then about to retire from Columbia.

From "Double Helix" by James D. Watson

Related Words

• depart
• go
• pull out
• relinquish
• remove
• retreat
• separate
• surrender
• withdraw