retire

See also: retiré

English

Etymology 1

From Middle French retirer (“draw back”), from prefix re- (“back”), + verb tirer (“draw, pull”), from Old French tirer, tirier (“to draw out, arrange, adorn”), from tire, tiere (“row, rank, order, dress”) of Germanic origin, akin to Old English and Old Saxon Old Saxon tīr (“fame, glory, ornament”), Old English tīer (“rank, row”), Old High German ziari, zēri (“ornament”), German German Zier (“ornament, adornment”), zieren (“to adorn”). More at tier.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɹəˈtaɪə(ɹ)/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ɹəˈtaɪɹ/

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪə(ɹ)
• Hyphenation: re‧tire

Verb

retire (third-person singular simple present retires, present participle retiring, simple past and past participle retired)

1. (intransitive) 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.

   She decided to retire from her banking job due to stress.

2. (transitive, sometimes reflexive) To withdraw; to take away.
   • 1590, Philippe Sidnei [i.e., Philip Sidney], “(please specify the page number)”, in Fulke Greville, Matthew Gwinne, and John Florio, editors, The Covntesse of Pembrokes Arcadia [The New Arcadia], London: […] William Ponsonbie, OCLC 801077108; republished in Albert Feuillerat, editor, The Countesse of Pembrokes Arcadia (Cambridge English Classics: The Complete Works of Sir Philip Sidney; I), Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: University Press, 1912, OCLC 318419127:

     He […] retired himself, his wife, and children into a forest.

   • 1592, John Davies, The Original, Nature, and Immortality of the Soul

     As when the sun is present all the year, / And never doth retire his golden ray.

3. (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.

   • 2020 May 20, John Crosse, “Soon to be gone... but never forgotten”, in Rail, page 63:

     Only now, due to the COVID-19-associated drop in traffic, are they being retired with 12 of the 30 trains moved to Landore (Swansea) for warm storage.

4. (transitive) To withdraw from circulation, or from the market; to take up and pay.

   The central bank retired those notes five years ago.

5. (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.

6. (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.

7. (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.

   Jones retired Smith 6-3.

8. (intransitive) 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 retire from the public eye

9. (intransitive) 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.

10. (intransitive) To recede; to fall or bend back.

    Past the point, the shore retires into a sequence of coves.

11. (intransitive) To go to bed.

    I will retire for the night.

12. (transitive) To remove or cease to use.

    When a hurricane becomes so deadly or destructive that future use would be insensitive, officials may retire the name of the hurricane.

Derived terms

• (cricket): retire hurt
• retiree
• retirement
• retirer

 

Related terms

• tirer

Translations

to stop working on a permanent basis

• Arabic: تَقَاعَدَ‎ (taqāʿada)
• Armenian: please add this translation if you can
• Catalan: jubilar (ca)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 退休 (teoi³ jau¹)

  Mandarin: 退休 (zh) (tuìxiū), 引退 (zh) (yǐntuì), 退下 (zh) (tuìxià)

• Czech: jít do důchodu impf, odejít do důchodu pf
• Dutch: met pensioen gaan
• Esperanto: retiriĝi (eo)
• Finnish: jäädä eläkkeelle
• French: se retirer (fr), prendre sa retraite (fr)
• Galician: xubilar (gl)
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: in Pension gehen, in Rente gehen, in den Ruhestand gehen
• Greek: συνταξιοδοτούμαι (el) (syntaxiodotoúmai)
• Hungarian: nyugdíjba megy (hu)
• Icelandic: setjast í helgan stein
• Irish: téigh ar scor
• Italian: ritirarsi (it)

• Japanese: 退職する (たいしょくする, taishoku-surú), 引退する (いんたいする, intai-surú)
• Kabuverdianu: apuzenta, apuzentá
• Khmer: ចូលនិវត្តន៍ (cool ni’voat)
• Korean: 퇴직하다 (ko) (toejik-hada)
• Latin: abire (la)
• Maori: tāoki
• Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
• Navajo: naanish yoołbįįh
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: pensjonere

  Nynorsk: pensjonere

• Polish: przejść na emeryturę
• Portuguese: aposentar-se, reformar-se
• Russian: выходи́ть на пе́нсию (vyxodítʹ na pénsiju), выходи́ть в отста́вку (vyxodítʹ v otstávku)
• Slovak: odísť do dôchodku pf
• Spanish: jubilar (es)
• Thai: เกษียณ (th) (gà-sǐian), เกษียณอายุ (th), รีไทร์
• Vietnamese: về hưu (vi), thôi việc
• Walloon: prinde si pinsion
• Welsh: ymddeol (cy)

to cause to retire, to deem as no longer qualified for active use etc.

• Maori: whakatūnguru

to go back or return

• Finnish: vetäytyä (fi)

• Portuguese: retirar-se

to retreat from action or danger

• Catalan: retirar-se (ca), retirar (ca)
• Esperanto: retiriĝi (eo)
• Finnish: vetäytyä (fi)
• Greek:

  Ancient Greek: ὑποχωρέω (hupokhōréō)

• Icelandic: draga sig í hlé
• Maori: whakatahi
• Portuguese: retirar-se

to recede

to go to bed

• French: se coucher (fr)
• Portuguese: ir dormir, recolher-se

• Scottish Gaelic: rach mu thàmh

Noun

retire (plural retires)

1. (rare) The act of retiring, or the state of being retired.
2. A place to which one retires.

   Synonym: retreat

3. (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.

Etymology 2

From re- +‎ tire.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /ɹiˈtaɪɚ/

Alternative forms

• retyre

Verb

retire (third-person singular simple present retires, present participle retiring, simple past and past participle retired)

1. (transitive, American spelling) To fit (a vehicle) with new tires.

Anagrams

• Terrie, reiter, retier, étrier

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French

Verb

retire

1. first-person singular present indicative of retirer
2. third-person singular present indicative of retirer
3. first-person singular present subjunctive of retirer
4. third-person singular present subjunctive of retirer
5. second-person singular imperative of retirer

Anagrams

• étirer, étrier, itérer

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Portuguese

Verb

retire

1. first-person singular (eu) present subjunctive of retirar
2. third-person singular (ele and ela, also used with você and others) present subjunctive of retirar
3. third-person singular (você) affirmative imperative of retirar
4. third-person singular (você) negative imperative of retirar

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Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /reˈtiɾe/, [reˈt̪i.ɾe]

Verb

retire

1. Formal second-person singular (usted) imperative form of retirar.
2. First-person singular (yo) present subjunctive form of retirar.
3. Formal second-person singular (usted) present subjunctive form of retirar.
4. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted^?) present subjunctive form of retirar.