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re·tire (rĭ-tīr)
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v. re·tired, re·tir·ing, re·tires
v.intr.
1. To withdraw from one's occupation or position, especially upon reaching a certain age; stop working.
2.
a. To move away or withdraw, as for rest or seclusion: The guests retired to the living room.
b. To fall back or retreat, as from battle.
3. To go to bed.
v.tr.
1.
a. To cause to withdraw from one's usual field of activity: The board must retire all executives at 65.
b. To withdraw from use or active service: retire an old battleship.
2.
a. To take out of circulation: retired the bonds.
b. To pay off: retire one's debts.
3. To lead (troops, for example) away from action; withdraw.
4. Baseball
a. To put out (a batter).
b. To cause (the opposing team) to end a turn at bat.
[French retirer, to retreat, from Old French, to take back : re-, re- + tirer, to draw; see TIER1.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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