# retain

Pronunciation: US say "ruh-TAYN" /ɹəˈteɪn/; UK say "ri-TAYN" /ɹɪˈteɪn/

## Verb

1. To keep something in place or in use rather than removing or abolishing it; to preserve it.
   - Simple: To keep something as it is instead of taking it away or changing it.
   - _Lawmakers voted to retain the existing tax exemption._
   - _The renovated theater retained its ornate 1920s ceiling._
2. To keep something in one's possession or control; to continue to have it.
   - Simple: To keep something that you have and not give it up.
   - _The champion retained her title with a narrow victory._
   - _Sellers often retain a copy of the signed contract for their records._
3. To keep something in the mind; to remember or be able to recall it.
   - Simple: To keep facts or ideas in your memory.
   - _Students retain new vocabulary better when they use it in conversation._
   - _Decades later, she still retained every detail of that summer._
4. To hold something securely in place, preventing it from becoming detached or separated.
   - Simple: To hold something firmly in place so it does not come loose or fall off.
   - _A locking pin retains the trailer hitch in position._
   - _These straps retain the cargo during sudden stops._
5. To engage a lawyer or other professional by paying a retainer, an advance fee that reserves their services for when they are needed.
   - Simple: To pay a lawyer money in advance so they will work for you when needed.
   - _The startup retained outside counsel before signing the merger agreement._
   - _Wealthy clients retain attorneys on an ongoing basis, paying whether or not work arises._
6. To engage someone's services; to hire someone, especially on a temporary basis.
   - Simple: To hire someone to do work for you, often for a short time.
   - _The committee retained an independent auditor to review the accounts._
   - _Production companies retain local crews for each filming location._
7. Of an object or material, to hold or keep something inside itself; to contain.
   - Simple: To hold something inside and not let it escape or leak out.
   - _The insulated mug retains heat for hours._
   - _Even after washing, the fibers retain traces of the dye._
8. To hold someone or something back; to check, restrain, or prevent, often followed by from.
   - Simple: To hold someone or something back and stop them from doing something.
   - _A heavy gate retained the crowd from pushing onto the field._
   - _Guardrails retain vehicles from sliding off the mountain road._
9. To keep someone in one's employ or service; also, mostly in former times, to keep a person on as a follower or dependent.
   - Simple: To keep someone working for you and continue paying them.
   - _The firm retained its senior engineers through the downturn by offering bonuses._
   - _Companies that retain experienced employees save heavily on training costs._
10. To control or restrain oneself; to exercise self-control.
   - Simple: To control yourself and stop yourself from showing strong feelings or anger.
   - _Furious at the verdict, he barely retained himself in the courtroom._
   - _Diplomats must retain themselves even when negotiations turn hostile._
11. To hold a pupil back in the same grade instead of allowing advancement to the next class or year.
   - Simple: To make a student repeat a school year instead of moving up.
   - _After much discussion, the district retained two struggling readers in first grade._
   - _Some states retain third graders who do not pass the reading test._
12. To fail to expel fluid, tissue, or another substance, especially urine, from the body or one of its organs.
   - Simple: To hold liquid or other material inside the body instead of letting it out.
   - _Patients with heart failure often retain fluid in their legs and lungs._
   - _After the delivery, her uterus retained fragments of placental tissue._
13. To keep something in one's control or possession; to continue having it.
   - Simple: To keep something you already have, instead of losing it.
   - _Pressed by reporters about the title fight, the champion vowed to retain._
   - _In Friday's vote, both incumbent judges retained comfortably._
14. To be able to hold on to things in one's mind; to make use of one's memory.
   - Simple: To be able to keep new information in your mind after you learn it.
   - _Students retain better after a full night's sleep._
   - _He listens attentively in lectures but retains poorly without written notes._
15. Of a body or organ: to hold back tissue or a substance rather than expelling it.
   - Simple: To hold in liquid or other material instead of letting it pass out of the body.
   - _If the bladder retains after surgery, a catheter may be necessary._
   - _Patients on this drug may retain, so doctors monitor fluid balance closely._
17. In Christian practice, to declare that a person's sin is not forgiven.
   - Simple: To say that a person's sin is not forgiven.
   - _The confessor retained the penitent's sin until he made restitution._
   - _Church teaching holds that priests may forgive sins or retain them._

## Verb

16. To keep someone in custody; to prevent a person from leaving a place. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: To keep someone in a place by force and not let them leave.
   - _The magistrate retained the suspect until the next assizes._
   - _Guards were posted at every door to retain the witnesses overnight._
18. To hold oneself back from an action; to refrain from doing something. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To hold yourself back and not do something you want to do.
   - _She could scarcely retain from laughing at the ambassador's wig._
   - _Though provoked beyond measure, he retained, and answered with civility._
19. To be a dependent or follower of someone, especially as a member of an important person's household. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To work for an important person and follow them as part of their household.
   - _He retained to Lord Hastings and wore his livery at court._
   - _A poor knight might retain with a great baron in exchange for protection and pay._
20. To continue to exist or stay in a place; to remain as before. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To stay or continue in a place or condition.
   - _Something of the old man's sternness retained in his son._
   - _Such beliefs retain among the hill folk, though the towns have forgotten them._

## Noun

21. The act of holding on to something, or the thing so held; retention or possession. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: The act of keeping something, or a thing that you keep.
   - _The deed confirmed the widow's retain of the manor for her lifetime._
   - _By the retain of the port, the crown kept its grip on the western trade._
22. A group of attendants or servants, especially of someone considered important; a retinue. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A group of servants and helpers who travel with an important person.
   - _The cardinal traveled with a retain of forty horsemen and clerks._
   - _His retain crowded the inn's yard, demanding stabling and supper._

## Origin

**Meanings 1–20** — This comes from Late Middle English reteinen, borrowed via Anglo-Norman and Old French retenir from Vulgar Latin *retinīre and Latin retinēre ('to keep or hold back, detain, retain'). The Latin verb was formed from the prefix re- ('again') plus teneō ('to grasp, hold'), which ultimately traces to Proto-Indo-European *ten- ('to extend, stretch').
**Meanings 21–22** — This is derived partly from Middle English retein or retain ('possession of a sum of money'), and partly from the verb retain (see etymology 1).

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/retain (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).