What does "retain" mean?
An act of holding or keeping something; a possession, a retention.
Retain
/ɹɪˈteɪn/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: An act of holding or keeping something; a possession, a retention.
- Grammar: retain is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: hold, keep, absorb, archive.
- Useful contrasts: abstract performance metric, bowdlerized, danish skubbe.
- Usage evidence: If you use a computer, you can retain information.
How to use "retain"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "retain" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "retain" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "retain" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "retain" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "retain" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "hold" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
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Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "retain", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 An act of holding or keeping something; a possession, a retention. obsolete
- 2 Synonym of retinue (“a group of attendants or servants, especially of someone considered important”). obsolete
Verb
- 1 Often followed by from: to hold back (someone or something); to check, to prevent, to restrain, to stop. transitive
"Upon vvhich Prince Henry enraged, took up the Cheſs-board, and ſtruck the Dauphin vvith ſuch Fury on the Head, that he laid him bleeding on the Ground, and had killed him if his Brother Robert had not retained him, and made him ſenſible hovv much more it concerned him to make his Eſcape than purſue his Revenge, […]"
- 2 keep in one's mind wordnet
- 3 Often followed by from: to hold back (someone or something); to check, to prevent, to restrain, to stop.; To hold back (a pupil) instead of allowing them to advance to the next class or year; to keep back. transitive
- 4 secure and keep for possible future use or application wordnet
- 5 Of a thing: to hold or keep (something) inside it; to contain. transitive
"[I]f diſtilled Vinegar or Aquafortis be povvred upon the povvder of Loadſtone, the ſubſiding povvder dryed, retaines ſome magneticall vertue, and vvill be attracted by the Loadſtone: […]"
Show 19 more definitions
- 6 allow to remain in a place or position or maintain a property or feature wordnet
- 7 Of a thing: to hold or keep (something) inside it; to contain.; To hold back (tissue or a substance, especially urine) in the body or a body organ. transitive
- 8 hold back within wordnet
- 9 To hold (something) secure; to prevent (something) from becoming detached or separated. transitive
- 10 To keep (something) in control or possession; to continue having (something); to keep back. transitive
"Robert of Artoys baniſht though thou be, / From Fraunce thy natiue Country, yet with vs, / Thou ſhalt retayne as great a Seigniorie: / For vve create thee Earle of Richmond heere, […]"
- 11 To keep (something) in control or possession; to continue having (something); to keep back.; To keep (something) in the mind; to recall, to remember. transitive
"Novv 'tis obvious enough to conceive, hovv much eaſier, all ſuch VVritings ſhould be Learnt and Remembred, in Verſe than in Proſe, […] by the order of Feet vvhich makes a great Facility of Tracing one VVord after another, by knovving vvhat ſort of Foot or Quantity, muſt neceſſarily have preceded or follovved the VVords vve retain and deſire to make up."
- 12 To keep (something) in place or use, instead of removing or abolishing it; to preserve. transitive
"And yet leſte any manne ſhould bee offended (whom good reaſon might ſatiſfie) here be certayne cauſes rendered, why ſome of the accuſtomed Ceremonies be put awaye, and ſome be retayned and kept ſtill."
- 13 To engage or hire (someone), especially temporarily. transitive
"It is ſuch a Rarity as this that I ſavv at Vendome in France, vvhich they there pretend is a Tear that our Saviour ſhed over Lazarus, and vvas gather'd up by an Angel, vvho put it in a little Cryſtal Vial, and made a Preſent of it to Mary Magdalene. […] It is in the Poſſeſſion of a Benedictin Convent, vvhich raiſes a conſiderable Revenue out of the Devotion that is paid to it, and has novv retain'd the learnedſt Father of their Order to vvrite in its Defence."
- 14 To engage or hire (someone), especially temporarily.; To employ (someone, especially a lawyer) by paying a retainer (“fee one pays to reserve another person's time for services”); specifically, to engage (a barrister) by making an initial payment to secure their services if needed. transitive
"It is vvell knovvn thou retaineſt thy Lavvyers by the Year, ſo a freſh Lavv-Suit adds but little to thy Expences; […]"
- 15 To keep (someone) in one's pay or service; also, (chiefly historical) to maintain (someone) as a dependent or follower. transitive
"[H]e entruſted the government of the province to Archas Martin and Lupicaire, tvvo mercenary Brabançons, vvhom he had retained in his ſervice."
- 16 To control or restrain (oneself); to exercise self-control over (oneself). reflexive, transitive
- 17 To keep (someone) in custody; to prevent (someone) from leaving. archaic, transitive
"There vvith the Nymph his mother, like her thrall; / VVho ſore againſt his vvill did him retaine, / For feare of perill, vvhich to him mote fall, / Through his too ventrous provveſſe proued ouer all."
- 18 To declare (a sin) not forgiven. transitive
"Receave the holy gooſt: whoſoevers ſynnes ye remyt⸝ they are remitted vnto them: And whoſoevers ſynnes ye retayne⸝ they are retayned."
- 19 To keep in control or possession; to continue having. intransitive
"[T]he ſpirit is exceedingly acid, and may be called a ſtrong and ſour Acetum Minerale; vvereas the fixt nitre has as ſtrong a taſte of ſalt of tartar as the ſpirit has of diſtilled vinegar: and yet theſe tvvo bodies, vvhoſe ſapours are ſo pungent, and ſo differing, do both ſpring from and unite into ſalt-petre, vvhich betrays upon the tongue no heat or corroſiveneſs at all, but coldneſs mixed vvith a ſomevvhat languid reliſh retaining to bitterneſs."
- 20 To have the ability to keep something in the mind; to use the memory. intransitive
"The things that make a good Judge, or good Interpreter of the Lavves, are, […] Fourthly, and laſtly, Patience to heare; diligent attention in hearing; and memory to retain, digeſt and apply vvhat he hath heard."
- 21 Of a body or body organ: to hold back tissue or a substance. intransitive
- 22 To refrain from doing something. intransitive, obsolete
"[T]hey can ſcarce retaine from burſting foorth / In plaine reuolt."
- 23 To be a dependent or follower to someone. intransitive, obsolete
"He was reteynyng to Sergius Paulus, whiche was proconſull, that is to ſaye lieutenaunt, or the lorde deputie of that Yland, and was a wyſe man and of good experience."
- 24 To continue, to remain. intransitive, obsolete, rare
"No more can impure man retaine and move / In that pure region of a vvorthy love: / Then earthly ſubſtance can unforc'd aſpire, / And leave his nature to converſe vvith fire: […]"
Antonyms
Example
"If you use a computer, you can retain information."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "retain"?
Common synonyms include: hold, keep, absorb, archive, balance, ballast.
How do you use "retain" in a sentence?
If you use a computer, you can retain information.
How do you pronounce "retain"?
Pronounced /ɹɪˈteɪn/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Late Middle English reteinen, retein (“to continue to keep, retain; to continue to possess; to possess; to contain; to draw back, retire; to hold back, restrain; to keep in mind, remember; to take back, repossess; to appoint; to engage in one’s service, employ, hire”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman reteiner, retenir [and other forms], Middle French retenir, and Old French retenir (“to keep back, retain; to keep, maintain, preserve; to possess; to engage in one’s service, employ; to detain; to hold back, restrain; to remember”) (modern French retenir), from Vulgar Latin *retinīre, from Latin retinēre, the present active infinitive of retineō (“to keep or hold back, detain, retain; to hold in check, stop; to hold fast, maintain; to keep in mind, remember”) (compare Late Latin retineō (“to keep engaged in one’s service”)), from re- (prefix meaning ‘again’) + teneō (“to grasp, hold; to hold fast, restrain; to possess; to keep in mind, remember”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ten- (“to extend, stretch”)). Etymology 1 sense 1.10 (“to declare (a sin) not forgiven”) is derived from John 20:23 in the Bible, in Late Latin quorum retinueritis, retenta sunt, and in Koine Greek ἄν τινων κρατῆτε, κεκράτηνται: see the 1526 quotation. Cognates * Catalan retenir * Italian retenere (obsolete), ritenere * Portuguese reter * Spanish retener
Etymology 2
Partly: * from Middle English retein, retain (“possession of a sum of money”) […]; and * from the verb (see etymology 1).