retain
Often followed by from: to hold back (someone or something); to check, to prevent, to restrain, to stop.
Verb 4 meanings
Often followed by from: to hold back (someone or something); to check, to prevent, to restrain, to stop.
Of a thing: to hold or keep (something) inside it; to contain.
“water retained by a dam”
To hold (something) secure; to prevent (something) from becoming detached or separated.
To keep (something) in control or possession; to continue having (something); to keep back.
Etymology
From Late Middle English reteinen, retein (“to continue to keep, retain; to continue to possess; to possess; to contain; to draw back, retire; to hold back, restrain; to keep in mind, remember; to take back, repossess; to appoint; to engage in one’s service, employ, hire”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman reteiner, retenir [and other forms], Middle French retenir, and Old French retenir (“to keep back, retain; to keep, maintain, preserve; to possess; to engage in one’s service, employ; to detain; to hold back, restrain; to remember”) (modern French retenir), from Vulgar Latin *retinīre, from Latin retinēre, the present active infinitive of retineō (“to keep or hold back, detain, retain; to hold in check, stop; to hold fast, maintain; to keep in mind, remember”) (compare Late Latin retineō (“to keep engaged in one’s service”)), from re- (prefix meaning ‘again’) + teneō (“to grasp, hold; to hold fast, restrain; to possess; to keep in mind, remember”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ten- (“to extend, stretch”)).
Similar and opposite words
RETAIN at a glance
RETAIN has 6 letters and scores 6 points in Scrabble (R 1 + E 1 + T 1 + A 1 + I 1 + N 1) and 7 in Words With Friends, before board bonuses. It ranks #5,446 by how often it appears in everyday English. It is valid in ENABLE, NWL2023, Collins/SOWPODS.
Rhymes with retain
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