1
as in servant
a person hired to perform household or personal services
knights being dressed for battle by their retainers
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in employee
one who works for another for wages or a salary
lifelong civil service retainers
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of retainer
Imhoff says the retainer and testing are at no cost to them.
—
Christa Swanson, CBS News, 25 Feb. 2026
Pullman was president of the over 15,000-member State Police union from 2012 until his resignation in 2018, during which time Lynch worked as a lobbyist representing the union in exchange for monthly retainer payments.
—Grace Zokovitch, Boston Herald, 19 Feb. 2026
The School Board will have to vote again to approve a retainer agreement after it's worked out by the Milwaukee City Attorney's Office, which generally handles MPS' legal matters.
—Rory Linnane, jsonline.com, 12 Feb. 2026
Then their families have to put a retainer on an attorney, and they get put on a plane to Texas, where the detention continues.
—Literary Hub, 10 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for retainer
Christa Swanson, CBS News, 25 Feb. 2026
Pullman was president of the over 15,000-member State Police union from 2012 until his resignation in 2018, during which time Lynch worked as a lobbyist representing the union in exchange for monthly retainer payments.
—Grace Zokovitch, Boston Herald, 19 Feb. 2026
The School Board will have to vote again to approve a retainer agreement after it's worked out by the Milwaukee City Attorney's Office, which generally handles MPS' legal matters.
—Rory Linnane, jsonline.com, 12 Feb. 2026
Then their families have to put a retainer on an attorney, and they get put on a plane to Texas, where the detention continues.
—Literary Hub, 10 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for retainer
Recent Examples of Synonyms for retainer
Noun
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Digital ethics expert Davi Ottenheimer argued that the presentation evoked both blackface and the fantasy of a controllable Black servant.—
Deni Ellis Béchard,
Scientific American,
8 Apr. 2026
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By taking on the condition of a servant, the Son reveals the Father’s glory, overturning the worldly standards that so often distort our conscience.—
Mike Snider,
USA Today,
4 Apr. 2026
Noun
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But since the state’s cuts to Medicaid payments for certain services, and the launch of the FBI investigation in 2024, ARC has laid off hundreds of employees and shuttered dozens of facilities, leaving some clients homeless.—
Alex Acquisto,
CNN Money,
9 Apr. 2026
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The big story In this photograph taken on September 23, 2025, employees work at a garment factory in Tiruppur, in India’s southern state of Tamil Nadu.—
Priyanka Salve,
CNBC,
9 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Doris and Ann, the family’s longtime upstairs-downstairs maids, were there too.—
Jennifer Cannon,
Vanity Fair,
7 Apr. 2026
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Jol just wants to be an artist on the continent with his soul mate, the former lady’s maid.—
Alice Burton,
Vulture,
30 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Chats with friends and co-workers alike can do a lot to improve the flow of your schedule.—
Tarot.com,
Baltimore Sun,
4 Apr. 2026
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The two started out at the YMCA as community health workers and went back at least a decade.—
Amanda Rosa,
Miami Herald,
4 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Retainer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/retainer. Accessed 10 Apr. 2026.
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