to withdraw from one's career, occupation, or office, usually because of age.
to retire at the age of sixty.
to withdraw, or go away or apart, to a place of privacy, shelter, or seclusion.
He retired to his study.
to go to bed.
He retired at midnight.
to fall back or retreat in an orderly fashion and according to plan, as from battle, an untenable position, danger, etc.
to withdraw or remove oneself.
After announcing the guests, the butler retired.
to withdraw from circulation by taking up and paying, as bonds, bills, etc.; redeem.
to withdraw or lead back (troops, ships, etc.), as from battle or danger; retreat.
to remove from active service or the usual field of activity, as an army officer or business executive.
to withdraw (a machine, ship, etc.) permanently from its normal service, usually for scrapping; take out of use.
Baseball, Cricket. to put out or end the offensive play of (a batter, runner, side, etc.).
The pitcher’s on fire, retiring the last five hitters with strikeouts.
With two runners stranded on base, the side is retired.
a place of withdrawal; retreat.
a cool retire from summer's heat.
retirement or withdrawal, as from worldly matters or the company of others.
(also tr) to give up or to cause (a person) to give up his work, a post, etc, esp on reaching pensionable age (in Britain and Australia usually 65 for men, 60 for women)
to go away, as into seclusion, for recuperation, etc
to go to bed
to recede or disappear
the sun retired behind the clouds
to withdraw from a sporting contest, esp because of injury
(also tr) to pull back (troops, etc) from battle or an exposed position or (of troops, etc) to fall back
(tr)
to remove (bills, bonds, shares, etc) from circulation by taking them up and paying for them
to remove (money) from circulation
See depart.
First recorded in 1525–35; from Middle French retirer “to withdraw, pull back,” equivalent to re- re- + tirer “to draw”
< French, past participle of retirer to retire
If you stop working by choice and leave your position or occupation, you retire. If you are lucky, you can retire early in order to sail around the world, but most people can't retire until they are old enough to collect retirement benefits. If you go to bed in the evening, you retire. If your younger siblings are being loud and obnoxious, you can retire to the basement to get some privacy and quiet. If something is withdrawn from circulation, it can also be retired. When a beloved player leaves a sports team, often the number assigned to him or her is retired and no one else can use that number.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Michael Robbins, 78, a Bradley client, is an associate professor of psychology at the University of Maine who is planning to retire later this year.
From Barron's • Jun. 13, 2026
When Edin Dzeko decides the time is right to retire, the highlights reel of his career will be extensive.
From BBC • Jun. 12, 2026
The pair had been scheduled to play their quarter-final on Thursday but Mboko, 19, suffered a nasty fall in her singles match on Wednesday, which forced her to retire from the match.
From BBC • Jun. 11, 2026
The point isn’t to retire without Social Security.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 10, 2026
Like the last person in the household to retire for the night, it would be Jefferson’s responsibility to close up the fireplace and “rake the ashes over the coals.”
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
