What Does Retire Mean?

Retire is a verb that means to voluntarily withdraw from active participation. It usually means terminating one's gainful employment. For instance 'After completing many years of devoted service, the manger decided it was time she retire' or 'He was too old to work and so he retired'.

Retirement is the noun form of retire. People go into retirement voluntarily generally when they are too old to work or when the physical conditions do not permit them to continue their present occupation.

Retire is also used in a number of other contexts. To retire may also mean to lose interest in something like for example, 'After her husband's untimely demise, she retired from social life'. It may also mean cause someone else to retire like for instance, 'the bowler retired three batsmen in a single over'. It could also allude to the disposal of something old or worn out like for instance 'he retired his old shoes'.

Retirement is also a term in sports wherein a team decides never to issue a retired player's jersey number. It is a mark of respect.