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Synonyms

retain

American

[ri-tayn] / rɪˈteɪn /

verb (used with object)

to keep possession of.

Synonyms:

preserve, hold

Antonyms:

lose, loose
to continue to use, practice, etc..

to retain an old custom.
to continue to hold or have.

to retain a prisoner in custody; a cloth that retains its color.
to keep in mind; remember.

Antonyms:

forget
to hold in place or position.
to engage, especially by payment of a preliminary fee.

to retain a lawyer.
Medicine/Medical. to keep in the body, especially abnormally; fail to eliminate.

I was referred to a specialty clinic and they discovered that I was retaining urine.

retain British

/ rɪˈteɪn /

verb

to keep in one's possession
to be able to hold or contain

soil that retains water
(of a person) to be able to remember (information, facts, etc) without difficulty
to hold in position
to keep for one's future use, as by paying a retainer or nominal charge

to retain one's rooms for the holidays
law to engage the services of (a barrister) by payment of a preliminary fee
(in selling races) to buy back a winner that one owns when it is auctioned after the race
(of racehorse trainers) to pay an advance fee to (a jockey) so as to have prior or exclusive claims upon his services throughout the season

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Synonym Usage

See keep.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of retain

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English reteinen, from Old French retenir, from Latin retinēre “to hold back, hold fast,” equivalent to re- re- + -tinēre, combining form of tenēre “to hold”

Explanation

Retain means to hold on to or keep. People who can retain a lot of information are often mistaken for geniuses, but really they just have very good memories. To retain is to keep or maintain, whether in mind, possession or a certain condition. If you have a great personal assistant, you'll probably want to retain him for as long as you can. If your body is retaining water you might look a little plump. The verbs restrain and detain sound similar, but they mean to keep something by force.

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Vocabulary lists containing retain

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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.

See Examples For:

retain retains retained retaining

General Mills said it will retain Haagen-Dazs’s retail operations in the country.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026

They retain the right to question the destination, reconsider promises and withdraw their support.

From Salon ● Nov. 5, 2026

However, he added that "the president would retain considerable executive authority, so the implications for individual sectors are far from straightforward".

From Barron's ● Nov. 4, 2026

The company said that this philosophy is leading clients to deploy AI more rapidly because they see the ability to retain the essence of their businesses while gaining frontier-level AI capabilities.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 3, 2026

“It seems to me,” he said, “we spend money enough in this house to procure at least one meal a day which a man could eat and retain his self-respect.”

From "The Awakening" by Kate Chopin

He believes that the term has now "largely been detoxified" as it mostly "retains that tinge of mockery or irony".

From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2026

Current CVS Chief Executive David Joyner will run the company that retains the CVS Health name.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026

ExxonMobil agreed to take over as operator in September, assuming responsibility from France-based energy major TotalEnergies, which retains a significant stake.

From Barron's ● Nov. 2, 2026

However Berlant firmly believed that L.A. still retains its defining creative spirit.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026

Though what authority he retains is not clear.

From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr

While Switzerland retained the No. 3 spot, it fell to the seventh place—from fifth last year—in terms of innovation and technology leadership, according to the report.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026

The following day, they were asked to recall what they had learned, allowing the scientists to evaluate how effectively the memories had been retained overnight.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 5, 2026

Valtteri Bottas was retained for 2020 after all.

From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026

Gross margins measure the percentage of revenue retained after the company pays for the costs of making its products.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 3, 2026

She and the frightful look of the saints in the glow of the nocturnal lamp were the two memories he retained of the house.

From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Changes associated with Alzheimer's disease, particularly tau accumulation in regions responsible for generating widespread slow waves, may help explain why some people experience greater difficulty retaining memories.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 5, 2026

England's pursuit of points has led to Warrington winger Matty Ashton retaining his spot on the left.

From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026

Rather than rapidly releasing radioactive substances, the particles appear capable of retaining fission products within their structures.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 23, 2026

If SpaceX acquired Tesla, the class structure would remain in place, with Musk owning 37% of the shares of the combined company while retaining 56% of the voting power, according to Levy’s calculations.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026

I sat on the retaining wall and watched her walk away.

From "Ugly" by Robert Hoge

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023