retire
UK /ɹɪˈtaɪə/ · US /ɹəˈtaɪɹ/ verb, noun
Forms retires retiring retired retyre
- verb (intransitive) To stop working on a permanent basis, usually because of old age or illness. “Having made a large fortune, he retired.”
- verb (intransitive, sports) To stop playing their sport and in competitions a sports player. “I have decided to retire from football at the end of the season after the World Cup.”
- verb (transitive, sometimes reflexive) To withdraw; to take away.
- verb (transitive) To cease use or production of something. “The steamship made thousands of trips over several decades before it was retired by the shipping company.”
- verb (transitive) To withdraw from circulation, or from the market; to take up and pay. “The central bank retired those notes five years ago.”
- verb (transitive) To cause to retire; specifically, to designate as no longer qualified for active service; to place on the retired list. “The board retired the old major.”
- verb (intransitive, cricket, of a batsman) To voluntarily stop batting before being dismissed so that the next batsman can bat. “Jones retired in favour of Smith.”
- verb (transitive, baseball, of a fielder) To make a play which results in a runner or the batter being out, either by means of a put out, fly out or strikeout. Also, when such an event ends a team's turn at bat. “Jones retired Smith 6-3.”
- noun (rare) The act of retiring, or the state of being retired.
- noun A place to which one retires.
- noun (dated) A call sounded on a bugle, announcing to skirmishers that they are to retire, or fall back. “At the retire, the cavalry fell back.”
- verb (transitive, American spelling) To fit (a vehicle) with new tires.
Synonyms
retreat withdraw pull away draw back recede pull back move back adjourn put out strike out go to bed turn in bed crawl in kip down hit the hay hit the sack sack out go to sleep
Etymology
From Middle French retirer (“draw back”), from Old French retirer, built from re- (“back”) + tirer (“draw, pull”), the latter from Vulgar Latin *tīrāre, of highly uncertain origin.
Webster’s 1913
- verb To withdraw; to take away; --sometimes used reflexively.
- verb To withdraw from circulation, or from the market; to take up and pay; as, to retire bonds; to retire a note.
- verb 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.
- verb To retreat from action or danger; to withdraw for safety or pleasure; as, to retire from battle.
Etymology [F. retirer; pref. re- re- + tirer to draw. See Tirade.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “retire”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details