retain

re·tain

Use retain in a sentence

Becky doesn't retain information very well, so she wrote the details on her hand as a reminder.

verb

Retain is defined as to keep, hold on to or keep in place.

An example of retain is to keep a prized possession from childhood.
An example of retain is for mouth-gear to keep the teeth in place.

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MLA Style

"retain." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 07 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/RETAIN>.

APA Style

retain. (n.d.). Retrieved December 07th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/RETAIN

retain

to hold or keep in possession
to keep in a fixed state or condition
to continue to have or hold in: to retain heat
to continue to practice, use, etc.
to keep in mind
to hire, or arrange in advance for the services of, by paying a retainer
Educ. to require (a student who has failed) to repeat a grade in school

Origin of retain

Middle English reteynen from Old French retenir from Late Latin an unverified form retenere, for Classical Latin retinere from re-, back + tenere, to hold: see thin

Link/Cite

Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"retain." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 07 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/RETAIN>.

APA Style

retain. (n.d.). Retrieved December 07th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/RETAIN

retain

transitive verb

re·tained, re·tain·ing, re·tains

a. To keep possession of; continue to have: The family sold the house but retained the land. See Synonyms at keep.
b. To keep in a particular place or condition: a library that retains the author's papers; plants that retain a lot of water.
c. To continue to have as a feature or aspect: retains his good humor after all the setbacks.
To keep in mind; remember: retains the songs she learned in childhood.
To require (a student) to repeat a class or grade because of insufficient educational progress to advance.
a. To keep in one's service or pay: retain employees on a workforce.
b. To hire (an attorney, for example) by the payment of a fee.
c. To hire someone for (his or her services).

Origin of retain

Middle English reteinen from Old French retenir from Latin retinēre re- re- tenēre to hold ; see ten- in Indo-European roots.

Related Forms:

re·tain′a·bil′i·ty
noun

re·tain′a·ble
adjective

re·tain′ment
noun

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.