- present participle of retire.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of retiring
Explanation
If you are a retiring person, you avoid being at the center of attention. You can often be found in the library and other quiet places, and if someone compliments you, you're likely to blush and change the subject. If you call someone retiring, it isn't necessarily clear whether you mean it as a compliment or something closer to a put-down. Usually, the word is used to describe someone who is shy or modest to a fault. But it can also be used to suggest that someone isn't arrogant, which is usually a good thing. And, of course, retiring can also refer to someone who stepped down from their last job and doesn't intend to work anymore.
Vocabulary lists containing retiring
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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.
That investment would allow Qantas to start retiring its double-decker A380 fleet from 2028, she said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026
On Thursday, it said it would start retiring its aging A380 craft in the 2028 calendar year, four years earlier than previously planned.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
By 2050, retiring at 65 and stepping away entirely for 40 years might seem as unusual as retiring at 40 sounds today.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 26, 2026
At his peak, he could intimidate established incumbents into retiring.
From Slate ● Aug. 25, 2026
I followed him down to the parlor, where we kindled a fire for the ease of the academicians, who were retiring from the experimental chamber.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson
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.
