• (RP) IPA: /ɹɪˈteɪn/
• (America) IPA: /ɹəˈteɪn/, /ɹi-/

From Late Middle English reteinen, retein [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman reteiner, retenir [and other forms], Middle French retenir, and Old French retenir (modern French retenir), from Vulgar Latin *retino, from Latin retinēre, the present active infinitive of retineō (compare Late Latin retineō), from re- + teneō (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ten-).

• Catalan retenir
• Italian retenere (obsolete), ritenere
• Portuguese reter
• Spanish retener

retain (retains, present participle retaining; simple past and past participle retained)

1. (transitive)
   1. Often followed by from: to hold back (someone or something); to check, to prevent, to restrain, to stop.
      • 1695, William Temple, An Introduction to the History of England, London: […] Richard Simpson […], and Ralph Simpson […], →OCLC ↗, pages 286–287 ↗:

        Upon vvhich Prince Henry enraged, took up the Cheſs-board, and ſtruck the Dauphin vvith ſuch Fury on the Head, that he laid him bleeding on the Ground, and had killed him if his Brother Robert had not retained him, and made him ſenſible hovv much more it concerned him to make his Eſcape than purſue his Revenge, […]

      1. (education) To hold back (a pupil) instead of allowing them to advance to the next class or year; to keep back.
   2. Of a thing: to hold or keep (something) inside it; to contain.
      • 1646, Thomas Browne, “Concerning the Loadstone, therein of Sundry Common Opinions, and Received Relations, Naturall, Historicall, Medicall, Magicall”, in Pseudodoxia Epidemica: […], London: […] T[homas] H[arper] for Edward Dod, […], →OCLC ↗, 2nd book, page 68 ↗:

        [I]f diſtilled Vinegar or Aquafortis be povvred upon the povvder of Loadſtone, the ſubſiding povvder dryed, retaines ſome magneticall vertue, and vvill be attracted by the Loadſtone: […]

      1. (medicine) To hold back (tissue or a substance, especially urine) in the body or a body organ.
   3. To hold (something) secure; to prevent (something) from becoming detached or separated.
   4. To keep (something) in control or possession; to continue having (something); to keep back.
      • 1596, [attributed to William Shakespeare; Thomas Kyd], The Raigne of King Edward the Third: […], London: […] [T. Scarlet] for Cuthbert Burby, →OCLC ↗, [Act I, scene i], signature A3, recto ↗:

        Robert of Artoys baniſht though thou be, / From Fraunce thy natiue Country, yet with vs, / Thou ſhalt retayne as great a Seigniorie: / For vve create thee Earle of Richmond heere, […]

      • 1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book IV, Canto X”, in The Faerie Queene. […], part II (books IV–VI), London: […] [Richard Field] for William Ponsonby, →OCLC ↗, stanza 10, page 142 ↗:

        Then preacing to the pillour I repeated / The read thereof for guerdon of my paine, / And taking dovvne the ſhield, vvith me did it retaine.

      • 1600, [Michael Drayton, Richard Hathwaye, Anthony Munday, Robert Wilson], The First Part of the True and Honorable Historie, of the Life of Sir John Old-castle, the Good Lord Cobham. […], London: […] [V[alentine] S[immes]] for Thomas Pauier, […], →OCLC ↗, signature G2, recto ↗:

        Sir Roger Acton, thou retainſt the name / Of knight, and ſhouldſt be more diſcreetly temperd, / Than ioyne vvith peaſants, gentry is diuine, / But thou haſt made it more then popular.

      • 1634 October 9 (first performance), [John Milton], edited by H[enry] Lawes, A Maske Presented at Ludlow Castle, 1634: […] [Comus], London: […] [Augustine Matthews] for Hvmphrey Robinson, […], published 1637, →OCLC ↗; reprinted as Comus: […] (Dodd, Mead & Company’s Facsimile Reprints of Rare Books; Literature Series; no. I), New York, N.Y.: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1903, →OCLC ↗, page 29 ↗:

        [S]he [Sabrina, a water nymph] reviv'd, / And undervvent a quicke, immortall change / Made goddeſſe of the river; ſtill ſhe retaines / Her maiden gentleneſſe, […]

      • 1667, John Milton, “Book V ↗”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC ↗; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC ↗, lines 496–503:

        And from theſe corporal nutriments perhaps / Your bodies may at laſt turn all to Spirit, / Improv'd by tract of time, and wingd aſcend / Ethereal, as wee, or may at choice / Here or in Heav'nly Paradiſes dwell; / If ye be found obedient, and retain / Unalterably firm his love entire / Whoſe progenie you are.

      • 1680, Henry More, chapter III, in Apocalypsis Apocalypseos; or The Revelation of St John the Divine Unveiled. […], London: […] J. M. for J[ohn] Martyn, and W. Kettilby, […], →OCLC ↗, page 35 ↗:

        Thou retaineſt indeed ſtill the external form of the Philadelphian Church, as to Doctrine and VVorſhip; but thou art deſtitute of that Spirit of Life in the Nevv Birth, vvhich vvas the proper character of thy deceaſed Siſter Philadelphia.

      • 1766, William Blackstone, “Of Title by Testament, and Administration”, in Commentaries on the Laws of England, book II (Of the Rights of Things), Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] Clarendon Press, →OCLC ↗, page 511 ↗:

        Among debts of equal degree, the executor or adminiſtrator is allovved to pay himſelf firſt; by retaining in his hands ſo much as his debt amounts to.

      • 1813 January 26, [Jane Austen], chapter XIX, in Pride and Prejudice: […], volume III, London: […] [George Sidney] for T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC ↗, pages 323–324 ↗:

        Miss Bingley was very deeply mortified by Darcy's marriage; but as she thought it advisable to retain the right of visiting at Pemberley, she dropt all her resentment; was fonder than ever of Georgiana, almost as attentive to Darcy as heretofore, and paid off every arrear of civility to Elizabeth.

      • 1963, Margery Allingham, “The Elopers”, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC ↗, page 25 ↗:

        The original family who had begun to build a palace to rival Nonesuch had died out before they had put up little more than the gateway, so that the actual structure which had come down to posterity retained the secret magic of a promise rather than the overpowering splendour of a great architectural achievement.

      1. To keep (something) in the mind; to recall, to remember.
         • 1690, William Temple, Miscellanea. The Second Part. […], London: […] T. M. for Ri[chard] and Ra[lph] Simpson, […], →OCLC ↗, section, [https:// page 307]:

           Novv 'tis obvious enough to conceive, hovv much eaſier, all ſuch VVritings ſhould be Learnt and Remembred, in Verſe than in Proſe, […] by the order of Feet vvhich makes a great Facility of Tracing one VVord after another, by knovving vvhat ſort of Foot or Quantity, muſt neceſſarily have preceded or follovved the VVords vve retain and deſire to make up.

         • 1697, Virgil, “The Ninth Pastoral. Or, Lycidas, and Moeris.”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC ↗, page 43 ↗, lines 60–62:

           Or that ſvveet Song I heard vvith ſuch delight; / The ſame you ſung alone one ſtarry Night; / The Tune I ſtill retain, but not the VVords.

         • 1731 (date written), Simon Wagstaff [pseudonym; Jonathan Swift], “An Introduction to the Following Treatise”, in A Complete Collection of Genteel and Ingenious Conversation, […], London: […] B[enjamin] Motte […], published 1738, →OCLC ↗, page xiv ↗:

           [W]hatever Perſon vvould aſpire to be completely vvitty, ſmart, humourous, and polite, muſt by hard Labour be able to retain in his Memory every ſingle Sentence contained in this VVork, […]

   5. To keep (something) in place or use, instead of removing or abolishing it; to preserve.
      • 1549 March 7, Thomas Cranmer [et al.], compilers, “Of Ceremonies: Why Some be Abolished and Some Retayned”, in The Booke of the Common Prayer and Administration of the Sacramentes, […], London: […] Edowardi Whitchurche […], →OCLC ↗, folio xxxv, verso ↗:

        And yet leſte any manne ſhould bee offended (whom good reaſon might ſatiſfie) here be certayne cauſes rendered, why ſome of the accuſtomed Ceremonies be put awaye, and ſome be retayned and kept ſtill.

      • 1605, Michaell Draiton [i.e., Michael Drayton], Poems: […], London: […] [Valentine Simmes] for N[icholas] Ling, →OCLC ↗:

        VVhich vvhen they found hovv ſtill I did retaine / Th' ambitious courſe vvherein I firſt beganne, / And laſtly felt, that vnder my diſdaine / Into contempt continually they ranne; / Take armes at once to remedy their vvrong, / VVhich their cold ſpirits had ſuffered but too long.

      • 1835, [Edward Bulwer-Lytton], “The Knight of Provençe, and His Proposal”, in Rienzi, the Last of the Tribunes. […], volume I, London: Saunders and Otley, […], →OCLC ↗, book II (The Revolution), page 177 ↗:

        The palaces of the nobles were not as we see them now— […] but still to this day are retained the massive walls, and barred windows, and spacious courts, in which at that time they protected their rude retainers.

      • 1874, Thomas Hardy, “Coming Home—A Cry”, in Far from the Madding Crowd. […], volume II, London: Smith, Elder & Co., […], →OCLC ↗, pages 99–100 ↗:

        People of unalterable ideas still insisted upon calling him "Sergeant" when they met him, which was in some degree owing to his having still retained the well-shaped moustache of his military days, and the soldierly bearing inseparable from his form.

   6. To engage or hire (someone), especially temporarily.
      • 1705, J[oseph] Addison, “Pavia, Milan, &c.”, in Remarks on Several Parts of Italy, &c. in the Years 1701, 1702, 1703, London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC ↗, pages 37–38 ↗:

        It is ſuch a Rarity as this that I ſavv at Vendome in France, vvhich they there pretend is a Tear that our Saviour ſhed over Lazarus, and vvas gather'd up by an Angel, vvho put it in a little Cryſtal Vial, and made a Preſent of it to Mary Magdalene. […] It is in the Poſſeſſion of a Benedictin Convent, vvhich raiſes a conſiderable Revenue out of the Devotion that is paid to it, and has novv retain'd the learnedſt Father of their Order to vvrite in its Defence.

      1. (chiefly, law) To employ (someone, especially a lawyer) by paying a retainer; specifically, to engage (a barrister) by making an initial payment to secure their services if needed.
         • 1733, Humphry Polesworth [pseudonym; John Arbuthnot], Alexander Pope, compiler, “Law is a Bottomless Pit. Or, The History of John Bull. […]. The Second Part. Chapter XVI. How John Bull and Nic. Frog Settled Their Accompts.”, in Miscellanies, 2nd edition, volume II, London: […] Benjamin Motte, […], →OCLC ↗, page 143 ↗:

           It is vvell knovvn thou retaineſt thy Lavvyers by the Year, ſo a freſh Lavv-Suit adds but little to thy Expences; […]

         • 1836 March – 1837 October, Charles Dickens, “Which is All about the Law, and Sundry Great Authorities Learned therein”, in The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1837, →OCLC ↗, page 325 ↗:

           "Mr. Pickwick is the defendant in Bardell and Pickwick, Serjeant Snubbin," said Perker. / "I am retained in that, am I?" said the Sergeant. / "You are, Sir," replied Perker.

   7. To keep (someone) in one's pay or service; also, (chiefly, historical) to maintain (someone) as a dependent or follower.
      • 1762, David Hume, “[John.] Chapter XI.”, in The History of England, from the Invasion of Julius Cæsar to the Accession of Henry VII, volume I, London: […] A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC ↗, page 365 ↗:

        [H]e entruſted the government of the province to Archas Martin and Lupicaire, tvvo mercenary Brabançons, vvhom he had retained in his ſervice.

   8. (reflexive) To control or restrain (oneself); to exercise self-control over (oneself).
   9. (archaic) To keep (someone) in custody; to prevent (someone) from leaving.
      • 1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book IV, Canto XI”, in The Faerie Queene. […], part II (books IV–VI), London: […] [Richard Field] for William Ponsonby, →OCLC ↗, stanza 7, page 158 ↗:

        There vvith the Nymph his mother, like her thrall; / VVho ſore againſt his vvill did him retaine, / For feare of perill, vvhich to him mote fall, / Through his too ventrous provveſſe proued ouer all.

   10. (Christianity) To declare (a sin) not forgiven.

       Antonyms: remit

       • 1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC ↗, John xx:[23], folio clj, verso ↗:

         Receave the holy gooſt: whoſoevers ſynnes ye remyt⸝ they are remitted vnto them: And whoſoevers ſynnes ye retayne⸝ they are retayned.

       • 1605, Jos[eph] Hall, “Paragraph 98”, in Meditations and Vowes, Diuine and Morall. […], London: […] Humfrey Lownes, for Iohn Porter, →OCLC ↗, 1st book, page 27 ↗:

         I vvill ſo remit vvrongs, as I may not encourage others to offer them; and ſo retaine them, as I may not induce God to retaine mine to him.

       • 1651, Thomas Hobbes, “Of the Office of Our Blessed Saviour”, in Leviathan, or The Matter, Forme, & Power of a Common-wealth Ecclesiasticall and Civill, London: […] [William Wilson] for Andrew Crooke, […], →OCLC ↗, 3rd part (Of a Christian Common-wealth), page 277 ↗:

         Excommunication therefore had its effect onely upon thoſe, that beleeved that Jeſus Chriſt vvas to come again in Glory, to reign over, and to judge both the quick, and the dead, and ſhould therefore refuſe entrance into his Kingdom, to thoſe vvhoſe Sins vvere Retained; that is, to thoſe that vvere Excommunicated by the Church.

2. (intransitive)
   1. To keep in control or possession; to continue having.
      • 1661, Robert Boyle, “A Physico-chymical Essay, Concerning an Experiment, with Some Considerations Touching the Differing Parts and Redintegration of Salt-petre”, in The Works of the Honourable Robert Boyle. […], volume I, London: […] A[ndrew] Millar, […], published 1744, →OCLC ↗, section XVII, page 234 ↗:

        [T]he ſpirit is exceedingly acid, and may be called a ſtrong and ſour Acetum Minerale; vvereas the fixt nitre has as ſtrong a taſte of ſalt of tartar as the ſpirit has of diſtilled vinegar: and yet theſe tvvo bodies, vvhoſe ſapours are ſo pungent, and ſo differing, do both ſpring from and unite into ſalt-petre, vvhich betrays upon the tongue no heat or corroſiveneſs at all, but coldneſs mixed vvith a ſomevvhat languid reliſh retaining to bitterneſs.

      • 1766, William Blackstone, “Of Title by Testament, and Administration”, in Commentaries on the Laws of England, book II (Of the Rights of Things), Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] Clarendon Press, →OCLC ↗, page 511 ↗:

        But an executor of his ovvn vvrong is not allovved to retain: for that vvould tend to encourage creditors to ſtrive vvho ſhould firſt take poſſeſſion of the goods of the deceaſed; and vvould beſides be taking advantage of their ovvn vvrong, vvhich is contrary to the rule of lavv.

   2. To have the ability to keep something in the mind; to use the memory.
      • 1651, Thomas Hobbes, “Of Civill Lawes”, in Leviathan, or The Matter, Forme, & Power of a Common-wealth Ecclesiasticall and Civill, London: […] [William Wilson] for Andrew Crooke, […], →OCLC ↗, 2nd part (Of Common-wealth), pages 146–147 ↗:

        The things that make a good Judge, or good Interpreter of the Lavves, are, […] Fourthly, and laſtly, Patience to heare; diligent attention in hearing; and memory to retain, digeſt and apply vvhat he hath heard.

      • 1775, W[illiam] Mason, quoting Thomas Gray, “Memoirs of the Life and Writings of Mr. Gray. Section the Fourth. Essay I.”, in [Thomas] Gray, The Poems of Mr. Gray. […], York, Yorkshire: […] A[nn] Ward; and sold by J[ames] Dodsley, […]; and J[ohn] Todd, […], →OCLC ↗, page 195 ↗:

        Alike, to all the kind, impartial Heav'n / The ſparks of truth and happineſs has giv'n: / VVith ſenſe to feel, vvith memory to retain, / They follovv pleaſure, and they fly from pain; […]

      • 1785, William Cowper, “Tirocinium: Or, A Review of Schools”, in The Task, a Poem, […], London: […] J[oseph] Johnson;  […], →OCLC ↗, page 320 ↗:

        If ſhrevv'd, and of a vvell-conſtructed brain, / Keen in purſuit, and vig'rous to retain, / Your ſon come forth a prodigy of ſkill, / As vvhereſoever, taught, ſo form'd, he vvill, / The pædagogue, vvith ſelf-complacent air, / Claims more than half the praiſe as his due ſhare; […]

   3. (medicine) Of a body or body organ: to hold back tissue or a substance.
   4. (obsolete)
      1. To refrain from doing something.
         • 1600 or 1601 (date written), I. M. [i.e., John Marston], Antonios Reuenge. The Second Part. […], London: […] [Richard Bradock] for Thomas Fisher, and are to be soulde [by Matthew Lownes] […], published 1602, →OCLC ↗, Act V, scene i, signature I2, verso ↗:

           [T]hey can ſcarce retaine from burſting foorth / In plaine reuolt.

      2. To be a dependent or follower to someone.
         • 1549 February 10 (Gregorian calendar; indicated as 1548), Erasmus, “The Actes of the Apostles. The .xiii. Chapter.”, in Nicolas Udall [i.e., Nicholas Udall], transl., The First Tome or Volume of the Paraphrase of Erasmus vpon the Newe Testamente, London: […] Edwarde Whitchurche, →OCLC ↗, folio xlviii, verso ↗:

           He was reteynyng to Sergius Paulus, whiche was proconſull, that is to ſaye lieutenaunt, or the lorde deputie of that Yland, and was a wyſe man and of good experience.

         • 1612, Michael Drayton, “The Eight Song”, in [John Selden], editor, Poly-Olbion. Or A Chorographicall Description of Tracts, Riuers, Mountaines, Forests, and Other Parts of this Renowned Isle of Great Britaine, […], London: […] H[umphrey] L[ownes] for Mathew Lownes; I[ohn] Browne; I[ohn] Helme; I[ohn] Busbie, published 1613, →OCLC ↗, page 121 ↗:

           VVhen ſoone thoſe other Rils to Seuerne vvhich retaine, / And 'tended not on Teame, thus of themſelues do ſhovve / The ſeruice that to her they abſolutely ovve.

         • 1646, Thomas Browne, “Of the Last and Common Promoter of False Opinions, the Endeavours of Satan”, in Pseudodoxia Epidemica: […], London: […] T[homas] H[arper] for Edward Dod, […], →OCLC ↗, 1st book, page 42 ↗:

           And therefore hereto he inveigleth, not only the Sadduces and ſuch as retaine unto the Church of God, but is alſo content that Epicurus Democritus or any of the heathen ſhould hold the ſame.

      3. (rare) To continue, to remain.
         • a. 1631 (date written), J[ohn] Donne, “To the Countesse of Huntington”, in Poems, […] with Elegies on the Authors Death, London: […] M[iles] F[lesher] for John Marriot, […], published 1639, →OCLC ↗, page 194 ↗:

           No more can impure man retaine and move / In that pure region of a vvorthy love: / Then earthly ſubſtance can unforc'd aſpire, / And leave his nature to converſe vvith fire: […]

• abstain
• contain
• maintain
• obtain

• retainder
• retainment
• retent
• retentate
• retention
• retentional
• retentionist
• retentive
• retentively
• retentiveness
• retentivity
• retinue
• sustain

• German: festhalten

• French: retenir, conserver, maintenir
• German: behalten
• Italian: conservare, mantenere
• Portuguese: reter
• Russian: храни́ть
• Spanish: retener, detentar

• Russian: нанима́ть

Partly:

• from Middle English retein, retain […]; and
• from the verb (see etymology 1).

retain (plural retains) (obsolete)

1. An act of holding or keeping something; a possession, a retention.

   Synonyms: retainal, retaining, retainment

2. Synonym of retinue