retire

verb re·tire \ ri-ˈtī(-ə)r \

Updated on: 20 Apr 2018

retired; retiring

intransitive verb

1 : to withdraw from action or danger : retreat

2 : to withdraw especially for privacy

retired to her room

3 : to move back : recede

4 : to withdraw from one's position or occupation : conclude one's working or professional career

5 : to go to bed

transitive verb

1 : withdraw: such as

a : to march (a military force) away from the enemy

b : to withdraw from circulation or from the market : recall

retire a bond

c : to withdraw from usual use or service

2 : to cause to retire from one's position or occupation

3 a : to put out (a batter) in baseball

b : to cause (a side) to end a turn at bat in baseball

4 : to win permanent possession of (something, such as a trophy)

5 : to pay in full : settle

retire a debt

See retire defined for English-language learners

See retire defined for kids

Examples of retire in a Sentence

I want to be healthy when I retire.
She had to retire during the first set because of a muscle strain.
The Navy is retiring the old battleship.
The manufacturer plans to retire that car model in a few years.
The team is retiring his jersey number in honor of his great career.

Recent Examples of retire from the Web

Opera has announced that the warmhearted Viking will be retiring at the end of April, taking the free VPN app for iOS and Android with him.

— michael simon, PCWorld, "Opera is shuttering its VPN app for iOS and Android, sending users to SurfEasy," 17 Apr. 2018
Also worth noting: Glover plans to retire the Gambino name and perhaps the musician portion of his career for the foreseeable future—but maybe not before dropping one final album.

— joshua rivera, GQ, "Oh Hell Yeah, Donald Glover Is Hosting SNL," 16 Apr. 2018
The moderator is Ralph Bernstein, a seasoned moderator and retired attorney who has reviewed the internet and many periodicals to discuss at the meeting.

— Lake County News-Sun, "Calendar: Color yourself calm in North Chicago," 16 Apr. 2018
Howard County also is losing a second long-time legislator, Sen. Edward Kasemeyer, who is retiring after more than 30 years of service.

— kate magill, Columbia Flier, "Win, lose, draw: how the General Assembly session ended for Howard County," 10 Apr. 2018
Since the riots, Hill, now retired, has seen redevelopment along 63rd Street.

— Chicago Tribune, "Rage, riots, ruin," 9 Apr. 2018
Much of the energy behind copyright reform comes from Goodlatte, the House Judiciary Committee Chairman, who is retiring this fall.

— robert levine, Billboard, "Music Modernization Act Expected to Be Introduced in Congress Tuesday," 9 Apr. 2018
If a provider retires a certificate and starts using a new one, there's currently no clean way to update the SPKI data on clients other than cutting and pasting it into the configuration file.

— sean gallagher, Ars Technica, "How to keep your ISP’s nose out of your browser history with encrypted DNS," 8 Apr. 2018
Last May, Philip made the decision to retire from his royal duties—which included ending his public appearances—so the church service would have been a rare outing for him.

— alex warner, Marie Claire, "Here's What Will Happen When Prince Philip Dies," 3 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'retire.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of retire

Middle French retirer, from re- + tirer to draw

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1533

See Words from the same year

retire Synonyms

Phrases

give ground, give way, lose ground;

RETIRE Defined for English Language Learners

retire

verb

: to stop a job or career because you have reached the age when you are not allowed to work anymore or do not need or want to work anymore
: to cause (someone, such as a military officer) to end a job or career
: to stop playing in a game, competition, etc., especially because of injury