to withdraw from one's career, occupation, or office, usually because of age.
to retire at the age of sixty.
to withdraw, or go away or apart, to a place of privacy, shelter, or seclusion.
He retired to his study.
to go to bed.
He retired at midnight.
to fall back or retreat in an orderly fashion and according to plan, as from battle, an untenable position, danger, etc.
to withdraw or remove oneself.
After announcing the guests, the butler retired.
to withdraw from circulation by taking up and paying, as bonds, bills, etc.; redeem.
to withdraw or lead back (troops, ships, etc.), as from battle or danger; retreat.
to remove from active service or the usual field of activity, as an army officer or business executive.
to withdraw (a machine, ship, etc.) permanently from its normal service, usually for scrapping; take out of use.
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.
a place of withdrawal; retreat.
a cool retire from summer's heat.
retirement or withdrawal, as from worldly matters or the company of others.
(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)
to go away, as into seclusion, for recuperation, etc
to go to bed
to recede or disappear
the sun retired behind the clouds
to withdraw from a sporting contest, esp because of injury
(also tr) to pull back (troops, etc) from battle or an exposed position or (of troops, etc) to fall back
(tr)
to remove (bills, bonds, shares, etc) from circulation by taking them up and paying for them
to remove (money) from circulation
See depart.
First recorded in 1525–35; from Middle French retirer “to withdraw, pull back,” equivalent to re- re- + tirer “to draw”
< French, past participle of retirer to retire
If you stop working by choice and leave your position or occupation, you retire. If you are lucky, you can retire early in order to sail around the world, but most people can't retire until they are old enough to collect retirement benefits. If you go to bed in the evening, you retire. If your younger siblings are being loud and obnoxious, you can retire to the basement to get some privacy and quiet. If something is withdrawn from circulation, it can also be retired. When a beloved player leaves a sports team, often the number assigned to him or her is retired and no one else can use that number.
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This week in the Help Me Retire column, Alessandra Malito answered questions from a reader who was concerned about what might happen to her investment account if her broker were to go bankrupt.
From MarketWatch • May 15, 2026
"Retire and rehire" schemes are designed to retain experienced officers who leave to access their pension.
From BBC • Apr. 1, 2026
Appeared in the February 21, 2026, print edition as 'Microsoft’s Head of Gaming to Retire In Shake-Up as the Division Stumbles'.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 20, 2026
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 • Feb. 6, 2026
Retire to your chamber, and prepare for instant departure; and, in the mean while, I will consider what is best to be done.”
From Guy Fawkes or The Gunpowder Treason by Ainsworth, William Harrison
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.
