v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Retired p. pr. & vb. n. Retiring. ] [ F. retirer; pref. re- re- + tirer to draw. See Tirade. ] 1. To withdraw; to take away; -- sometimes used reflexively. [ 1913 Webster ]

He . . . retired himself, his wife, and children into a forest. Sir P. Sidney. [ 1913 Webster ]

As when the sun is present all the year,
And never doth retire his golden ray. Sir J. Davies. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To withdraw from circulation, or from the market; to take up and pay; as, to retire bonds; to retire a note. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To cause to retire; specifically, to designate as no longer qualified for active service; to place on the retired list; as, to retire a military or naval officer. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. 1. To go back or return; to draw back or away; to keep aloof; to withdraw or retreat, as from observation; to go into privacy; as, to retire to his home; to retire from the world, or from notice. [ 1913 Webster ]

To Una back he cast him to retire. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

The mind contracts herself, and shrinketh in,
And to herself she gladly doth retire. Sir J. Davies. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To retreat from action or danger; to withdraw for safety or pleasure; as, to retire from battle. [ 1913 Webster ]

Set Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retire ye from him, that he may be smitten, and die. 2 Sam. xi. 15. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To withdraw from a public station, or from business; as, having made a large fortune, he retired. [ 1913 Webster ]

And from Britannia's public posts retire. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To recede; to fall or bend back; as, the shore of the sea retires in bays and gulfs. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. To go to bed; as, he usually retires early. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- To withdraw; leave; depart; secede; recede; retreat; retrocede. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. The act of retiring, or the state of being retired; also, a place to which one retires. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

The battle and the retire of the English succors. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

[ Eve ] discover'd soon the place of her retire. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Mil.) A call sounded on a bugle, announcing to skirmishers that they are to retire, or fall back. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Private; secluded; quiet; as, a retired life; a person of retired habits. [ 1913 Webster ]

A retired part of the peninsula. Hawthorne. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Withdrawn from active duty or business; as, a retired officer; a retired physician. [ 1913 Webster ]

Retired flank (Fort.), a flank bent inward toward the rear of the work. --
Retired list (Mil. & Naval), a list of officers, who, by reason of advanced age or other disability, are relieved from active service, but still receive a specified amount of pay from the government. [ 1913 Webster ]

-- Re*tired"ly, adv. -- Re*tired"ness, n. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. retirement. ] 1. The act of retiring, or the state of being retired; withdrawal; seclusion; as, the retirement of an officer. [ 1913 Webster ]

O, blest Retirement, friend of life's decline. Goldsmith. [ 1913 Webster ]

Retirement, rural quiet, friendship, books. Thomson. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A place of seclusion or privacy; a place to which one withdraws or retreats; a private abode. [ Archaic ] [ 1913 Webster ]

This coast full of princely retirements for the sumptousness of their buildings and nobleness of the plantations. Evelyn. [ 1913 Webster ]

Caprea had been the retirement of Augustus. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Solitude; withdrawment; departure; retreat; seclusion; privacy. See Solitude. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who retires. [ 1913 Webster ]