retention

[ ri-ten-shuhn ]

noun

1. the act of retaining.
2. the state of being retained.
3. the power to retain; capacity for retaining.
4. the act or power of remembering things; memory.

retention

/ rɪˈtɛnʃən /

noun

1. the act of retaining or state of being retained
2. the capacity to hold or retain liquid
3. the capacity to remember
4. pathol the abnormal holding within the body of urine, faeces, etc, that are normally excreted
5. commerce a sum of money owed to a contractor but not paid for an agreed period as a safeguard against any faults found in the work carried out
6. plural accounting profits earned by a company but not distributed as dividends; retained earnings

Other Words From

• nonre·tention noun
• over·re·tention noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of retention¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English retencion, from Latin retentiōn-, stem of retentiō “restraint, withholding,” from retent(us) “held back” (past participle of retinēre “to hold back”; retain ) + -iō -ion

Word History and Origins

Origin of retention¹

C14: from Latin retentiō , from retinēre to retain

Example Sentences

Retention rates for most A-levels and other equivalent qualifications are consistently above 90%.

From BBC

Teixeira, 22, pleaded guilty to the wilful retention and transmission of national defence information in March.

From BBC

And when it comes to muscle retention, it’s move it or lose it.

From Los Angeles Times

Kaplan believes that apps could see better user retention and a worthy subscription model if they offered similar services, even if it wasn’t this white-glove.

From Slate

Helen Tappenden, who oversees personnel at the hotel, says the business has to "put our hand in our pocket" to avoid recruitment and retention problems.

From BBC