unretire

[uhn-ri-tahyuhr]

verb (used without object)

unretired, unretiring 

1. to return to the workforce after having been retired.

Other Word Forms

• unretirement noun
• unretiree noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of unretire¹

First recorded in 1945–50; un- ² ( def. ) + retire ( def. ) (in the sense “to withdraw from business”)

Example Sentences

A new season called for a new set of underwear, but a stretch of inadequate run support prompted Sonoda to unretire a pair he wore on the Dodgers’ World Series run last year, the ones with the rainbow-emitting rabbit.

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Kirnan was team owner and president of the Privateers and went behind the bench for the season’s final five games when its coach, Paul Kelly, decided to unretire so he could play in the postseason.

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This shouldn’t be a surprise from a guy who first announced his retirement on Feb. 1, 2022, only to unretire six weeks later and play another year before hanging it up again exactly a year after he did so the first time.

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The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that the number of people 75 and older in the labor force will grow 96.5% by 2030 as more senior workers defer their retirement or unretire to cover expenses.

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Her whole routine was perfunctory and almost chaste: The woman had left behind her horse farm to unretire her G-string, and you got the sense she’d rather be home with the animals.

Read more on Washington Post