retirement

American  

[ri-tahyuhr-muhnt] / rɪˈtaɪər mənt /

noun

1. the act of retiring or of leaving one's job, career, or occupation permanently, usually because of age.

   I'm looking forward to my retirement from teaching.

2. the portion of a person's life during which a person is retired.

   What will you do in retirement?

3. a pension or other income on which a retired person lives.

   His retirement is barely enough to pay the rent.

4. the act of retiring, withdrawing, or leaving; the state of being retired.

   After a competitive day on the golf course, she enjoys a quiet retirement to the residents' lounge.

5. removal of something from service or use.

   retirement of the space shuttle fleet.

6. withdrawal of a jury from a courtroom to deliberate in private on a verdict.

7. orderly withdrawal of a military force, according to plan, without pressure from the enemy.

8. withdrawal of securities from the market by a corporation, as through payment at maturity, repurchase, or exchange.

9. withdrawal into privacy or seclusion.

10. privacy or seclusion.

11. a private or secluded place.

12. Baseball, Cricket. the act or instance of the defense putting out or ending the offensive play of a batter, runner, side, etc.

    The retirement of the Brewers in the third inning came only after they scored six more runs.

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adjective

1. noting or pertaining to retirement.

   retirement pay.

retirement British  

/ rɪˈtaɪəmənt /

noun

1. 1. the act of retiring from one's work, office, etc

   2. ( as modifier )

      retirement age

2. the period of being retired from work

   she had many plans for her retirement

3. seclusion from the world; privacy

4. the act of going away or retreating

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Other Word Forms

• nonretirement
  noun
• postretirement
  adjective
• preretirement
  adjective
• semiretirement
  noun

Etymology

Origin of retirement

First recorded in 1530–40; retire + -ment ( def. )

Explanation

Retirement is when someone stops working, usually after many years, to take a break or start a new occupation. In order to consider retirement, a worker must usually have saved enough money to stop working. This most commonly happens after years at a job, and retirement is often a cause of celebration. Sometimes, as in "early retirement," a much younger person is able to stop working for pay — in some cases, because she's become wealthy from a business venture. The Middle French root word is retirer, "to withdraw."

Example Sentences

A woman said she was left paying hundreds of pounds a month for her late father's retirement flat for two years because she could not sell it.

From BBC • May 22, 2026

But if half of your retirement savings is, say, $10,000, that’s not necessarily a problem.

From MarketWatch • May 22, 2026

With mega-IPOs, that exit liquidity will likely include the index funds held by pension funds and retirement accounts.

From Barron's • May 22, 2026

“Others say she should start at full retirement age.”

From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 2026

Judge Lawrence Irving, a Reagan appointee, noted upon his retirement: “If I remain on the bench, I have no choice but to follow the law. I just can’t, in good conscience, continue to do this.”

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander

Related Words

• evacuation
• pullout
• withdrawal