re ‧ tire S2 W3 /rɪˈtaɪə $ -ˈtaɪr/ BrE AmE verb
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ retiree , ↑ retirement ; adjective : ↑ retired , ↑ retiring ; verb : ↑ retire ]
[ Date: 1500-1600 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: tirer 'to pull' ]
1 . WORK
a) [intransitive] to stop working, usually because you have reached a certain age:
Most people retire at 65.
He was forced to retire early because of poor health.
retire from
I retired from teaching three years ago.
her decision to retire from her position as librarian of the law society
Her drink problem has forced her to retire from public life.
retire as
He retired as a GP last year.
b) [transitive usually passive] to ask someone to stop doing their job, usually because of ill health:
He became ill and was retired early.
2 . QUIET PLACE [intransitive] formal to go away to a quiet place
retire to
I retired to my room to think.
3 . JURY [intransitive] when a ↑ jury in a law court retires, they go away to consider whether someone is guilty or not
4 . GAME/RACE [intransitive] to stop competing in a game or race because you are losing or injured:
He had to retire with a neck injury in the second half.
5 . BED [intransitive] literary to go to bed
6 . ARMY [intransitive] to move back from a battle after being defeated
• • •
THESAURUS
■ leave your job
▪ leave :
I left my last job because the salary was so low.
|
Why don’t you just leave?
▪ quit to leave your job permanently because you are not happy with it:
After enduring months of harassment, Mrs Collins decided to quit her job.
|
I’ve told them I’m quitting.
▪ resign to officially announce that you have decided to leave your job:
The company director was forced to resign over the scandal.
▪ hand in your notice/resignation to write an official letter to your employer saying that you are going to leave your job on a particular date:
You have to hand in your notice at least four weeks before you leave.
▪ retire to leave your job in order to stop working permanently, usually because you have reached the age when most people stop working:
After forty years of working for the bank, Karl retired in May.
|
He had to retire because of ill health.