retain

Pronunciation

• IPA ^(key): /rɪˈteɪn/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Hyphenation: re‧tain

Verb

Plain form retain

Third-person singular retains

Past tense retained

Past participle retained

Present participle retaining

1. (transitive) If you retain something, you keep it.

   After the election, the government retained control of the lower house, but lost the upper house.

   The company retains the right to change the price at any time.

   They joined the group but still managed to retain their independence at the same time.

2. (transitive) If you retain someone (usually a professional), you pay them to do a job.

   Since being charged by police, Black has retained a lawyer.

   With better wages abroad it is becoming increasingly difficult to retain employees.