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retire Definition

re·tire (ri tīr′)

intransitive verb -·tired′, -·tir′·ing

  1. to go away, retreat, or withdraw to a private, sheltered, or secluded place
  2. to go to bed
  3. to give ground, as in battle; retreat; withdraw
  4. to give up one's work, business, career, etc., esp. because of advanced age
  5. to move back or away, or seem to do so

Etymology: Fr retirer < re-, back + tirer, to draw < VL *tirare

transitive verb

  1. to withdraw or move in retreat to retire troops from an action
    1. to take (money) out of circulation
    2. to take up or pay off (stocks, bonds, bills, etc.)
  3. to cause to retire from a position, job, or office
  4. to withdraw from use to retire outdated machinery
  5. ☆ Baseball to end the batting turn of (a batter, side, etc.) by putting the batter, side, etc. out

retire Synonyms

retire

v.

  1. To draw away

    separate, withdraw, part, leave, recede, retreat, regress, draw back, seclude oneself, secede, keep aloof, keep apart, shut oneself up, deny oneself, rusticate; see also leave 1.

    Antonyms join*, accompany*, take part in.

  2. To go to bed

    lie down, turn in, rest; see lie 4, sleep.

  3. To cease active life

    resign, give up work, leave active service, step down, make vacant, hand over, reach retirement age, be pensioned off, lead a quiet life, sequester oneself, get the golden handshake*, be put on the shelf*, be put out to pasture*; see also resign 2.

  4. To remove

    revoke, rescind, scrap; see eliminate 1, withdraw 2.

retire Law Definition

v

Applying to drafts, to redeem by paying out a sum of money; to withdraw from the market by buying back; a voluntary leaving of public office, or other form of employment; a leaving the courtroom by the jury to consider the case, or by the judge to her chambers.

retire Usage Examples

Object

  • disposition: He was of a very quiet and retiring disposition and highly respected.
  • chairman: Below there is a special article written by the retiring chairman, Chris Fry about the proposed cottage extension.
  • collection: A retiring collection will be held to cover the cost of lunch.

Preposition: on

  • lap: David's namesake John spun at the hairpin before retiring on the eighth lap.
  • pension: He retired on a pension of £ 250 pa pre-arranged in 1905.
  • ground: Eventually Beverley was forced to retire on health grounds.

Preposition: at

  • end: Our senior partner retires at the end of April 2006.
  • age: Your employer will be allowed to force you to retire at the normal retirement age.

Preposition: as

chairman: Mr Atkinson and Mr Burks retired as chairman and secretary to be replaced by Mr Joseph Henry Sutcliffe and Mr Donald F Wormald respectively.

Adjective complement

due: A pension for those who retire early due to ill health.

Infinitive complement

  • deliberate: They may not attend briefings or accompany the Committee if it retires to deliberate in private.
  • stud: REACH RETIRED Phoenix Reach, a winner at the highest level in Dubai, Hong Kong and Canada, has been retired to stud.

Preposition: in

rotation: Five members of the 15-strong Council retire in rotation each year.

Preposition: from

  • navy: He retired from the British navy in 1828 in order to devote himself to writing.
  • fray: The Fleet withdrew and Rear-Admiral Carden retired from the fray, sick, both mentally and physically.
  • football: Have you any regrets about retiring from international football?
  • cricket: Lehmann calls it a day Darren Lehmann will retire from English cricket at the end of the season.
  • rowing: Now I'm going to retire from rowing and go off and have babies.
  • ministry: He said he had retired from the ministry on account of his health.

Preposition: by

rotation: The members will still have the power to vote on all the non-executive directors as they retire by rotation at general meetings.