retire.
To stop working on a permanent basis, usually because of old age or illness.
Meaning & usage
To stop working on a permanent basis, usually because of old age or illness.
Having made a large fortune, he retired.
He wants to retire at 55.
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.
I have decided to retire from test cricket at 45.
To withdraw; to take away.
To cease use or production of something.
The steamship made thousands of trips over several decades before it was retired by the shipping company.
When a hurricane becomes so deadly or destructive that future use would be insensitive, officials may retire the name of the hurricane.
To withdraw from circulation, or from the market; to take up and pay.
The central bank retired those notes five years ago.
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.
To voluntarily stop batting before being dismissed so that the next batsman can bat.
Jones retired in favour of Smith.
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.
Jones makes the catch for the third out, and that retires the side.
To go back or return; to withdraw or retreat, especially from public view; to go into privacy.
I will retire to the study.
to retire from the world
To retreat from action or danger; to withdraw for safety or pleasure.
to retire from battle
The regiment retired from the fray after the Major was killed.
To recede; to fall or bend back.
Past the point, the shore retires into a sequence of coves.
To go to bed.
I will retire for the night.
Where this word comes from
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.
The act of retiring, or the state of being retired.
A place to which one retires.
A call sounded on a bugle, announcing to skirmishers that they are to retire, or fall back.
At the retire, the cavalry fell back.
Where this word comes from
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.
To fit (a vehicle) with new tires.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Italic *wre- Latin re-der. Old French re-bor. Middle English re- English re- Proto-West Germanic *teuʀōn Old English tēorian Middle English tiren English tire English retire From re- + tire.
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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.