RETIRE • DICCIONARIO INGLES.COM • Definition of Retire

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/rɪtˈaɪr/ /ritˈaɪr/ /rˌitˈaɪər/ Listen

verb

Retire v. t. (past & past part. retired; pres. part. retiring)

To withdraw; to take away; sometimes used reflexively. "He... retired himself, his wife, and children into a forest." "As when the sun is present all the year, And never doth retire his golden ray."

To withdraw from circulation, or from the market; to take up and pay; as, to retire bonds; to retire a note.

To cause to retire; specifically, to designate as no longer qualified for active service; to place on the retired list; as, to retire a military or naval officer.

Retire v. i.

To go back or return; to draw back or away; to keep aloof; to withdraw or retreat, as from observation; to go into privacy; as, to retire to his home; to retire from the world, or from notice. "To Una back he cast him to retire." "The mind contracts herself, and shrinketh in, And to herself she gladly doth retire."

To retreat from action or danger; to withdraw for safety or pleasure; as, to retire from battle. "Set Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retire ye from him, that he may be smitten, and die."

To withdraw from a public station, or from business; as, having made a large fortune, he retired. "And from Britannia's public posts retire."

To recede; to fall or bend back; as, the shore of the sea retires in bays and gulfs.

To go to bed; as, he usually retires early.

Synonyms: To withdraw; leave; depart; secede; recede; retreat; retrocede.

noun

Retire n.

The act of retiring, or the state of being retired; also, a place to which one retires. (Obs.) "The battle and the retire of the English succors." "(Eve) discover'd soon the place of her retire."

(Mil.) A call sounded on a bugle, announcing to skirmishers that they are to retire, or fall back.

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Etymology of 'Retire'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Retire" Quotes from Famous Books

... of Miranda, the maid, reminded the children of their errand; and having delivered their offerings, they were about to retire in some confusion, ...

— Under the Lilacs • Louisa May Alcott

... inserted something suppressed in subsequent editions, which was interpreted to denote some relaxation of his loyalty. In this preface he declares, that "his desire had been for some days past, and did still very vehemently continue, to retire himself to some of the American plantations, and to forsake this ...

— Lives of the Poets, Vol. 1 • Samuel Johnson

... is no other than the celebrated actress, Juliet Hildebrand. The Veiled Lady and she are one and the same. Before we retire from this spot, let me explain that Mr. Snooks, the deceased, was run over by her automobile an hour or so ago. His back was broken. I merely put an end ...

— Anderson Crow, Detective • George Barr McCutcheon

... pioneers, we naturally look for this element. We find it abundantly in their early verses. When Thomas was only seventeen—the precocity of the brothers was remarkable—he wrote a "Pleasures of Melancholy," in which he expresses his wish to retire to "solemn glooms, congenial to the soul." In the early odes of his brother Joseph we find still more clearly indicated the intention to withdraw from the world, in order to indulge the susceptibilities of the ...

— Some Diversions of a Man of Letters • Edmund William Gosse

... began at once, and for a time the struggle was fierce. But at close quarters one Zulu was a match for ten Balotsi, so the assailants were soon glad to retire, leaving nearly a hundred dead behind them. The Zulus lost about five or six men. It was broad daylight when the Balotsi drew off, and the Zulus could see their enemies massed round them in every direction, and outnumbering them excessively. Both parties paused for a time, each watching ...

— Kafir Stories - Seven Short Stories • William Charles Scully

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