What does retain mean?
Definitions for retain
rɪˈteɪnre·tain
Here are all the possible meanings and translations of the word retain.
Princeton's WordNet
retainverb
hold back within
"This soil retains water"; "I retain this drug for a long time"; "the dam retains the water"
retain, continue, keep, keep onverb
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"
retain, hold, keep back, hold backverb
secure and keep for possible future use or application
"The landlord retained the security deposit"; "I reserve the right to disagree"
retainverb
keep in one's mind
"I cannot retain so much information"
Wiktionary
retainverb
To keep in possession or use.
retainverb
To keep in one's pay or service.
retainverb
To employ by paying a retainer.
retainverb
To hold secure.
Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
To RETAINverb
Etymology: retineo, Lat. retenir, Fr.
Where is the patience now,
That you so oft have boasted to retain. William Shakespeare, K. Lear.Though th’ offending part felt mortal pain,
Th’ immortal part its knowledge did retain. John Denham.The vigor of this arm was never vain;
And that my wonted prowess I retain,
Witness these heaps of slaughter. Dryden.A tomb and fun’ral honours I decreed;
The place your armour and your name retains. Dryden.Whatever ideas the mind can receive and contemplate without the help of the body, it is reasonable to conclude, it can retain without the help of the body too. John Locke.
Let me retain
The name and all the addition to a king;
The sway, beloved sons, be yours. William Shakespeare, King Lear.As they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind. Rom. i. 22.
Although they retain the word mandrake in the text, yet they retract it in the margin. Thomas Browne, Vulgar Errours.
Be obedient and retain
Unalterably firm his love entire. John Milton.They, who have restored painting in Germany, not having seen any of those fair reliques of antiquity, have retained much of that barbarous method. Dryden.
Receive him that is mine own bowels; whom I would have retained with me. Philem. xii. 13.
Hollow rocks retain the sound of blust’ring winds. John Milton.
A Benedictine convent has now retained the most learned father of their order to write in its defence. Addison.
To Retainverb
These betray upon the tongue no heat nor corrosiveness, but coldness mixed with a somewhat languid relish retaining to bitterness. Boyle.
In animals many actions depend upon their living form, as well as that of mixtion, and though they wholly seem to retain to the body, depart upon disunion. Brown.
No more can impure man retain and move
In the pure region of that worthy love,
Than earthly substance can unforc’d aspire,
And leave his nature to converse with fire. John Donne.
Webster Dictionary
Retainverb
to continue to hold; to keep in possession; not to lose, part with, or dismiss; to retrain from departure, escape, or the like
Retainverb
to keep in pay; to employ by a preliminary fee paid; to hire; to engage; as, to retain a counselor
Retainverb
to restrain; to prevent
Retainverb
to belong; to pertain
Retainverb
to keep; to continue; to remain
Freebase
RETAIN
RETAIN is a mainframe based database system, accessed via IBM 3270 terminals, used internally within IBM providing service support to IBM field personnel and customers. The acronym RETAIN stands for REmote Technical Assistance Information Network.
Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
Retain
rē-tān′, v.t. to keep in possession: to detain: to employ by a fee paid: to restrain: to keep up, as to retain a custom: to keep in mind.—adj. Retain′able, that may be retained.—ns. Retain′er, one who is retained or kept in service: a dependant, but higher than a servant: a sutler: a retaining fee; Retain′ership; Retain′ment.—Retaining fee, the advance fee paid to a lawyer to defend a cause; Retaining wall, a wall to prevent a bank from slipping down.—General retainer, a fee to secure a priority of claim on a counsel's services; Special retainer, a fee for a particular case. [Fr.,—L. retinēre—re-, back, tenēre, to hold.]
Editors Contribution
retain
To keep a specific type of form, structure or memory.
The memory stick retained its memory and the data that was saved onto it.
Submitted by MaryC on January 7, 2020
British National Corpus
Spoken Corpus Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'retain' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #3773
Written Corpus Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'retain' in Written Corpus Frequency: #4493
Verbs Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'retain' in Verbs Frequency: #317
Anagrams for retain »
tin ear
retina
Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of retain in Chaldean Numerology is: 9
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of retain in Pythagorean Numerology is: 4
Examples of retain in a Sentence
The vast majority of people retain detectable antibodies for at least six months after infection with the coronavirus.
Netflix is the 800 lbs. gorilla in the streaming world, they are releasing new shows weekly at an alarming rate to acquire and retain subscribers, forcing other players to focus on aggressively marketing and differentiating their own offerings.
6 MYTHS ABOUT DATING OVER AGE 50, DEBUNKED Blaming outside factors, including you, does not count as taking responsibility. If they blame their partner or lack insight into their actions, chances are, they'll do it again, Sheri Meyers said. Why stay with a cheating spouse ? Dr. Paul Hokemeyer, a licensed marriage and couples therapist, told Fox News that couples who stay together after infidelity have compelling reasons to do so. They are invested in Your Relationship and don't want to throw away a history of success, the cheating event is either a one off occurrence or based on an implied understanding between partners. In other words, Sheri Meyers were both taking a break and agreed to date others at that time. 9 SIGNS SHE MAY BE CHEATING ON Sheri Meyers When a cheating spouse admits to being unfaithful, realizes the pain they've caused Sheri Meyers, and is willing to prove their commitment to the relationship every day, it is possible for a couple to heal and move past infidelity. Your Relationship will, no doubt, feel different. Your Relationship can find a new equilibrium, but Your Relationship will never go back to the way Your Relationship was before the cheating occurred. This is because our brain is wired to retain strong emotional experiences, Hokemeyer said. The partners have to find a new normal. One that doesn't ignore that the betrayal occurred while simultaneously finding a place for it in the narrative of Your Relationship. FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS Tammy Nelson said the majority of people will know if Your Relationship is built to last through a breach of trust. Most people ultimately know when Your Relationship has a solid foundation and a loving connection — they know if Your Relationship can survive an affair.
While the people retain their virtue, and vigilance, no administration, by any extreme of wickedness or folly, can very seriously injure the government, in the short space of four years.
Investors voting for Kohl's to retain Read MoreThe department store sector current directors represents a much-needed confidence boost for Michelle Gass and Michelle Gass management team, we have seen far too many past Wall Street interventions in retail end in disaster.
Popularity rank by frequency of use
Translations for retain
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- صانَ, حَفِظَ, أَدَامَ, بَقَّى, احتفظ, أَبْقَى, رَعَىArabic
- ponechatCzech
- festhalten, behaltenGerman
- διατηρώGreek
- reteniEsperanto
- retener, detentarSpanish
- säilyttää, [[pitää]] [[palvelus, pitääFinnish
- retenir, conserver, maintenirFrench
- coinnighIrish
- megtartHungarian
- retinent,, habeo, teneoLatin
- whakauenukuMāori
- behoudenDutch
- få, mottaNorwegian
- zachowaćPolish
- reterPortuguese
- rețineRomanian
- сохранять, оставлять, нанимать, сохранить, хранить, оставитьRussian
- bevara, fåSwedish
- kaybetmemek, unutmamak, tutmak, alıkoymak, elinden kaçırmamakTurkish
- 保留Chinese
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"retain." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2022. Web. 17 Aug. 2022. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/retain>.
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