SKIP TO CONTENT

retired

/riˈtaɪrd/
/rɪˈtaɪəd/
IPA guide

Other forms: retiredly

Someone who's retired has stopped working permanently. A retired teacher who misses his job might volunteer at an after-school program.

Most retired people in the U.S. are over the age of 65, although some are able to retire earlier, and some continue working well into their 70s or 80s. Some jobs provide pensions, or partial salaries, to retired workers, and other retired people take advantage of government-provided benefits like Social Security. To retire means "to stop working," but also "to retreat or withdraw," and in the 1500s, retired meant "separated or withdrawn from society."

Definitions of retired
  1. adjective
    no longer active in your work or profession
    synonyms:
    inactive
    not engaged in full-time work
Pronunciation
US
/riˈtaɪrd/
UK
/rɪˈtaɪəd/
Cite this entry
Style:
MLA
  • MLA
  • APA
  • Chicago

Copy citation
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘retired'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback
Word Family