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withdrawn; secluded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 To retire means "to stop working," but also "to retreat or withdraw," and in the 1500s, retired meant "separated or withdrawn from society."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.
He often told her that when he retired, they would travel together.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
Fellow Author Dr Phil Bierwirth, a retired environmental geoscientist affiliated with the ANU Emeritus Faculty, emphasized that the study does not establish a direct cause-and-effect relationship.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 15, 2026
The birds had previously been fed sardines for years, but the supply ended when the park's long-standing local supplier retired.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
Ideally, it’s something you should have considered when you first retired.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 2026
Before Louis Lépine retired, his Paris police tracked down the leader of the Bonnot Gang.
From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day
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.
