1
as in servants
a person hired to perform household or personal services
knights being dressed for battle by their retainers
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in employees
one who works for another for wages or a salary
lifelong civil service retainers
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of retainers
Regulars get the same attendant from visit to visit and treat them like family retainers.
—
Tom Sietsema, Washington Post, 17 Jan. 2026
Most of the contracts are retainers — with the lobbying firms receiving an equal payment each quarter.
—Andrew Graham, Sacbee.com, 22 Dec. 2025
Domestically, Roosevelt’s progressive reforms—breaking up dozens of monopolies, modifying railroad rates, setting aside public lands for conservation—cut against the long run of industrial oligarchy enjoyed by assorted oil, timber, and coal kings in collusion with their congressional retainers.
—Literary Hub, 16 Dec. 2025
How To Improve Your Soil's Moisture Retention A short-term solution for small areas or containers with hydrophobic soil is a commercial wetting agent, often called water retainers or penetrants.
—Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 18 Oct. 2025
Old Hamlet’s retainers acquired crumbling public housing estates turning out occupants enabling them to build showy apartments for cash buyers.
—Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 29 Aug. 2025
Or, Wu suggested, instead of opting for clear plastic aligners, a person could get metal braces or retainers.
—Zoë Schlanger, The Atlantic, 25 Aug. 2025
Avoiding flat retainers and aligning SOWs to key outcomes will be highly respected by an investor who has operational expertise.
—Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 25 Aug. 2025
Tom Sietsema, Washington Post, 17 Jan. 2026
Most of the contracts are retainers — with the lobbying firms receiving an equal payment each quarter.
—Andrew Graham, Sacbee.com, 22 Dec. 2025
Domestically, Roosevelt’s progressive reforms—breaking up dozens of monopolies, modifying railroad rates, setting aside public lands for conservation—cut against the long run of industrial oligarchy enjoyed by assorted oil, timber, and coal kings in collusion with their congressional retainers.
—Literary Hub, 16 Dec. 2025
How To Improve Your Soil's Moisture Retention A short-term solution for small areas or containers with hydrophobic soil is a commercial wetting agent, often called water retainers or penetrants.
—Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 18 Oct. 2025
Old Hamlet’s retainers acquired crumbling public housing estates turning out occupants enabling them to build showy apartments for cash buyers.
—Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 29 Aug. 2025
Or, Wu suggested, instead of opting for clear plastic aligners, a person could get metal braces or retainers.
—Zoë Schlanger, The Atlantic, 25 Aug. 2025
Avoiding flat retainers and aligning SOWs to key outcomes will be highly respected by an investor who has operational expertise.
—Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 25 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for retainers
Noun
-
An army of college servants swept river silt from the courtyards.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
26 Feb. 2026
-
In the 1885 territorial census, Soledad and her five-year-old daughter, Cleotilde, were listed as servants in the household of Romero’s brother.—
Geraldo Cadava,
New Yorker,
26 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The Labor Department published a rule Friday that would undo egregious attempts during the last administration to classify more workers as employees rather than independent contractors.—
Editorial Board,
Washington Post,
28 Feb. 2026
-
That year, employees at Alphabet's Google protested the Pentagon's use of the company's AI to analyze drone footage, straining relations between Silicon Valley and Washington.—
Andrea Shalal,
USA Today,
28 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The Labor Department published a rule Friday that would undo egregious attempts during the last administration to classify more workers as employees rather than independent contractors.—
Editorial Board,
Washington Post,
28 Feb. 2026
-
Groups representing 700,000 workers at Google, Amazon, and Microsoft have also signed an open letter.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
28 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Retainers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/retainers. Accessed 5 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
