Adjacent Words

Retain definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

RETA'IN, v.t. [L. retineo; re and teneo, to hold.]
1. To hold or keep in possession; not to lose or part with or dismiss. The memory retains ideas which facts or arguments have suggested to the mind.
They did not like to retain God in their knowledge. Romans 1.
2. To keep, as an associate; to keep from departure.
Whom I would have retained with me. Philippians 13.
3. To keep back; to hold.
An executor may retain a debt due to him from the testator.
4. To hold from escape. Some substances retain heat much longer than others. Metals readily receive and transmit heat, but do not long retain it. Seek cloths that retain their color.
5. To keep in pay; to hire.
A Benedictine convent has now retained the most learned father of their order to write in its defense.
6. To engage; to employ by a fee paid; as, to retain a counselor.
RETA'IN, v.i.
1. To belong to; to depend on; as coldness mixed with a somewhat languid relish retaining to bitterness.
[Not in use. We now use pertain.]
2. To keep; to continue. [Not in use.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: hold back within; "This soil retains water"; "I retain this drug for a long time"; "the dam retains the water"
2: allow to remain in a place or position or maintain a property or feature; "We cannot continue several servants any longer"; "She retains a lawyer"; "The family's fortune waned and they could not keep their household staff"; "Our grant has run out and we cannot keep you on"; "We kept the work going as long as we could"; "She retained her composure"; "this garment retains its shape even after many washings" [syn: retain, continue, keep, keep on]
3: secure and keep for possible future use or application; "The landlord retained the security deposit"; "I reserve the right to disagree" [syn: retain, hold, keep back, hold back]
4: keep in one's mind; "I cannot retain so much information"

Merriam Webster's

transitive verb Etymology: Middle English reteinen, retainen, from Anglo-French retenir, reteigner, from Latin retin?re to hold back, restrain, from re- + ten?re to hold — more at thin Date: 15th century 1. a. to keep in possession or use b. to keep in one's pay or service; specifically to employ by paying a retainer c. to keep in mind or memory ; remember 2. to hold secure or intact Synonyms: see keep

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v.tr. 1 a keep possession of; not lose; continue to have, practise, or recognize. b not abolish, discard, or alter. 2 keep in one's memory. 3 keep in place; hold fixed. 4 secure the services of (a person, esp. a barrister) with a preliminary payment. Phrases and idioms: retaining fee a fee paid to secure a person, service, etc. retaining wall a wall supporting and confining a mass of earth or water. Derivatives: retainable adj. retainability n. retainment n. Etymology: ME f. AF retei(g)n- f. stem of OF retenir ult. f. L retinere retent- (as RE-, tenere hold)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Retain Re*tain", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Retained; p. pr. & vb. n. Retaining.] [F. retainir, L. retinere; pref. re- re- + tenere to hold, keep. See Tenable, and cf. Rein of a bridle, Retention, Retinue.] 1. To continue to hold; to keep in possession; not to lose, part with, or dismiss; to retrain from departure, escape, or the like. ``Thy shape invisibleretain.'' --Shak. Be obedient, and retain Unalterably firm his love entire. --Milton. An executor may retain a debt due to him from the testator. --Blackstone. 2. To keep in pay; to employ by a preliminary fee paid; to hire; to engage; as, to retain a counselor. A Benedictine convent has now retained the most learned father of their order to write in its defense. --Addison. 3. To restrain; to prevent. [Obs.] --Sir W. Temple. Retaining wall (Arch. & Engin.), a wall built to keep any movable backing, or a bank of sand or earth, in its place; -- called also retain wall. Syn: To keep; hold; retrain. See Keep.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Retain Re*tain", v. i. 1. To belong; to pertain. [Obs.] A somewhat languid relish, retaining to bitterness. --Boyle. 2. To keep; to continue; to remain. [Obs.] --Donne.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(retains, retaining, retained) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. To retain something means to continue to have that thing. (FORMAL) The interior of the shop still retains a nineteenth-century atmosphere... VERB: V n 2. If you retain a lawyer, you pay him or her a fee to make sure that he or she will represent you when your case comes before the court. (LEGAL) He decided to retain him for the trial. VERB: V n

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

re-tan': Several Hebrew words are thus translated: chazaq, "to hold fast" (Jud 7:8; 19:4; Job 2:9 the King James Version (the Revised Version (British and American) "hold fast"); Mic 7:18); `atsar, "to shut up" (only in Da 10:8,16; 11:6); tamakh, "to hold" (Pr 3:18; 4:4; 11:16 the King James Version (the Revised Version (British and American) "obtain")); in one case kala' (Ec 8:8). In the New Testament krateo, is used in Joh 20:23 of the "retaining" of sins by the apostles (see RETENTION OF SINS); in Ro 1:28, the Revised Version (British and American) has "refused to have," margin "Greek, `did not approve,' " for the King James Version "did not like to retain" (echo); and in Phm 1:13, substitutes "fain have kept" for "retained" (katecho). Sirach 41:16 has "retain" for diaphulasso, "keep."

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. a. 1. Hold, keep, reserve, withhold, preserve, detain, keep in possession. 2. Engage (by fee paid), hire, employ, keep in pay.

Moby Thesaurus

absorb, balance, ballast, bear in mind, bespeak, book, bottle up, brief, brood over, cherish, cite, commission, conserve, contain, cork up, counterbalance, detain, dwell on, dwell upon, employ, engage, enjoy, extend, fan the embers, firm, firm up, freeze, hang on to, have in mind, hire, hold, hold back, hold in, hold in mind, hold on to, husband, immobilize, inhibit, keep, keep alive, keep back, keep by one, keep going, keep in, keep in memory, keep in mind, keep in reserve, keep in store, keep in view, keep on hand, keep out, keep up, lay by, lengthen, lock in, maintain, memorize, mind, nail down, own, perpetuate, pin down, possess, preengage, preserve, prolong, protract, put apart, put aside, put by, recall, recollect, recruit, remember, remind, reminisce, repress, reserve, retrospect, revive, save, save up, set apart, set aside, set by, sign on, sign up, sign up for, soak up, stabilitate, stabilize, steady, stick, suppress, sustain, take into employment, take on, transfix, treasure, withhold