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withdrawn; secluded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 To retire means "to stop working," but also "to retreat or withdraw," and in the 1500s, retired meant "separated or withdrawn from society."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.
Palal also pointed to testimony from retired Compton Police Det.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 31, 2026
A former senior Navy officer and a retired Navy operations officer told me that past commanders have occasionally filed statements warning of risk—similar to the non-concur notes.
From Slate ● Aug. 31, 2026
Britain's Arthur Fery has reached his first ATP Tour final after opponent James Duckworth retired because of injury at the Winston-Salem Open.
From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026
The elder Gao was retired; he asked his wife—Emma’s mother—for permission to use around $45,000 of their savings to start making wine in their home region of Ningxia, in northern China.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
“You’re doing a job, so you deserve to be compensated. I pay my friend Minnie fifteen dollars an hour when she watches Lily, but she’s a retired teacher. Is ten OK with you?”
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
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.
