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• retire
  retire

  verb (used without object)

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

  noun

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

retire

¹ American  

[ri-tahyuhr] / rɪˈtaɪər /

verb (used without object)

• retires,
  present (3rd person singular)
• retired,
  past participle,  past
• retiring
  present participle

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)

• retires,
  present (3rd person singular)
• retired,
  past participle,  past
• retiring
  present participle

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.

• retirés
  plural

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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Synonym Usage

See depart.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• retirer
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• retirés
  plural

Participles

• retiring
  present
• retired
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• retire
  simple
• retires
  simple
• have retired
  perfect
• has retired
  perfect
• am retiring
  progressive
• are retiring
  progressive
• is retiring
  progressive
• have been retiring
  perfect progressive
• has been retiring
  perfect progressive

Past

• retired
  simple
• had retired
  perfect
• was retiring
  progressive
• were retiring
  progressive
• had been retiring
  perfect progressive

Future

• will retire
  simple
• will have retired
  perfect
• will be retiring
  progressive
• will have been retiring
  perfect progressive

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

Explanation

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

retire retiré retires retired retiring

Some people relocate to lower-tax states when they retire.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026

Even when the devout Christian decided to retire, he found a way to be of public service.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026

Some may have decided it was the perfect time to retire from playing after what he had been through.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

When asked if he'd ever retire, his answer was simple - "I hope not."

From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026

After a lunch of white wine and tongue-size cutlets, we would retire to the gentlemen's lounge and talk about money.

From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris

For added strength, use might be made of a linen thread at the back, as in the point couché rentré ou retiré method that is discussed later.

From Embroidery and Tapestry Weaving by Grace Christie

When he retires at either 65 or 67, can he draw off of her earnings record?

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026

Messi retires from Argentina duty with 'nothing left to give'

From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026

The naming of tropical storms and hurricanes is a job for the World Meteorological Organization, which rotates them out every six years and retires them after a given storm causes too much destruction.

From Salon ● Aug. 28, 2026

Subscribers receive rewards like virtual currency and accessories, while CleanPlay retires renewable-energy certificates in their names.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026

When the captain retires for afternoon tea, or whatever a man like him does with his free time, I climb to the crow’s nest, to get as far away from the Abyssal Serpent as possible.

From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman

A former police pilot for Huntington Beach and a retired news helicopter pilot after 16 years, Lynn said pilots have established rules in the air to keep each other safe.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026

He retired in December 2024 at 59 and now runs a business taking aerial photography from helicopters in remote locations around the world.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026

"A bishop friend who retired told me it took three years for the tiredness to leave his body," McKeown told BBC Radio Foyle's North West Today programme.

From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026

Former world number one doubles player and six-time Grand Slam doubles champion Joe Salisbury has retired from professional tennis.

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

“Vern? No. He was retired even back then and he didn’t go out on research boats much anymore.”

From "The Line Tender" by Kate Allen

McVay confirmed that Donald will play for the first time since retiring after the 2023 season.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026

After retiring from the Air Force and flying for the airlines, Grieve went to Collins’ factory in Colorado to meet seat makers and talk about his ejection.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026

After a few years in which mainstream culture at least made noises about retiring the worst excesses of early-aughts thinspo, the pendulum appears to be swinging back.

From Salon ● Sep. 15, 2026

After retiring from the Metropolitan Police, Sutton wrote a book about the case, which was later turned into an ITV drama.

From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026

I untangle the headpiece from my hair and leave my station, but in the retiring room, the dress stares at me and I stare at it and I don’t want to wear this uniform again.

From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse

Related Words

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