retain.
Often followed by from: to hold back (someone or something); to check, to prevent, to restrain, to stop.
Meaning & usage
Often followed by from: to hold back (someone or something); to check, to prevent, to restrain, to stop.
Often followed by from: to hold back (someone or something); to check, to prevent, to restrain, to stop. To hold back (a pupil) instead of allowing them to advance to the next class or year; to keep back.
Of a thing: to hold or keep (something) inside it; to contain.
water retained by a dam
Of a thing: to hold or keep (something) inside it; to contain. To hold back (tissue or a substance, especially urine) in the body or a body organ.
To hold (something) secure; to prevent (something) from becoming detached or separated.
To keep (something) in control or possession; to continue having (something); to keep back.
To keep (something) in control or possession; to continue having (something); to keep back. To keep (something) in the mind; to recall, to remember.
To keep (something) in place or use, instead of removing or abolishing it; to preserve.
To engage or hire (someone), especially temporarily.
To engage or hire (someone), especially temporarily. To employ (someone, especially a lawyer) by paying a retainer (“fee one pays to reserve another person's time for services”); specifically, to engage (a barrister) by making an initial payment to secure their services if needed.
To keep (someone) in one's pay or service; also, (chiefly historical) to maintain (someone) as a dependent or follower.
To control or restrain (oneself); to exercise self-control over (oneself).
To keep (someone) in custody; to prevent (someone) from leaving.
To declare (a sin) not forgiven.
To keep in control or possession; to continue having.
To have the ability to keep something in the mind; to use the memory.
Of a body or body organ: to hold back tissue or a substance.
To refrain from doing something.
To be a dependent or follower to someone.
To continue, to remain.
Where this word comes from
From Late Middle English reteinen, retein (“to continue to keep, retain; to continue to possess; to possess; to contain; to draw back, retire; to hold back, restrain; to keep in mind, remember; to take back, repossess; to appoint; to engage in one’s service, employ, hire”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman reteiner, retenir [and other forms], Middle French retenir, and Old French retenir (“to keep back, retain; to keep, maintain, preserve; to possess; to engage in one’s service, employ; to detain; to hold back, restrain; to remember”) (modern French retenir), from Vulgar Latin *retinīre, from Latin retinēre, the present active infinitive of retineō (“to keep or hold back, detain, retain; to hold in check, stop; to hold fast, maintain; to keep in mind, remember”) (compare Late Latin retineō (“to keep engaged in one’s service”)), from re- (prefix meaning ‘again’) + teneō (“to grasp, hold; to hold fast, restrain; to possess; to keep in mind, remember”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ten- (“to extend, stretch”)). Etymology 1 sense 1.10 (“to declare (a sin) not forgiven”) is derived from John 20:23 in the Bible, in Late Latin quorum retinueritis, retenta sunt, and in Koine Greek ἄν τινων κρατῆτε, κεκράτηνται: see the 1526 quotation. Cognates * Catalan retenir * Italian retenere (obsolete), ritenere * Portuguese reter * Spanish retener
An act of holding or keeping something; a possession, a retention.
Synonym of retinue (“a group of attendants or servants, especially of someone considered important”).
Where this word comes from
Partly: * from Middle English retein, retain (“possession of a sum of money”) […]; and * from the verb (see etymology 1).
Try it on your idea.
retain has 6 characters. Say it out loud, try it alongside a description of your project, and see whether its meaning fits what you want to create.
These are naming prompts. Meanings and pronunciation can vary; existing brand and domain uses have not been checked.
Explore the name generatorA word with a source.
Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.