retiree
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of retiree
Explanation
A retiree is a person who has permanently stopped working. Florida is famous for being a state where many retirees live. That's why Florida has so many golf courses (and nursing homes). Most retirees are 65 or older — they've worked their whole lives, and when they retire, or cease working, they're taking a well-deserved break. Many older people continue to work, instead of becoming retirees. The word retiree comes from retire, which first meant "to retreat," and later "to withdraw to a private place." The suffix -ee is often used in legal terms to mean "initiator of an action."
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.
For the retiree who decides to take phased withdrawals, the bad luck would be the stock market plunging, which would have an outsize impact on lifetime retirement income.
From MarketWatch • Jul. 2, 2026
Tim Brunker, a 68-year-old retiree in Kenosha, Wis., has been waiting for this moment.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 1, 2026
Texan retiree Ken Haddad, in Rome with his teenage daughter, was trying to cope without a hat or a parasol.
From Barron's • Jun. 30, 2026
By waiting until 70, a retiree will receive 124% of their full benefits.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 24, 2026
Colin watched in a lock-jawed silence as Hassan furiously stabbed at his breakfast, and later as Hassan slammed the mini-recorder down on the coffee table of some factory retiree who was old-but-not-old-enough-for-the-nursing home.
From "An Abundance of Katherines" by John Green
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.
