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

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

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

Bass and the council have attempted to reverse the slide by giving raises, increasing starting pay and offering retention bonuses.

From Los Angeles Times

Sides who have not utilised their six retentions are given Right-to-Match cards to use at the Mega Auction, which means some players could still be retained.

From BBC

More About Retention

What is retention?

Retention is the act of retaining, that is, holding onto or keeping possession of something, as in Kim noted the plant’s successful retention of water.

Retention is also used to refer to the state of being retained or having the power to retain something, as in The lawyer was outraged by the police’s continued retention of his client.

Retention can also mean that something or someone has the power to retain things, especially a person’s ability to retain information in their memory, as in Weekly testing is done to improve students’ retention of what they have learned.

Example: Justine worked hard to improve the retention of skilled employees at her company.

Where does retention come from?

The first record of retention comes from around 1350. It ultimately comes from the Latin verb retinēre, meaning “to retain.” The verb retain has the same origin.

All of retention’s meanings are commonly used. You’re likely to use this word to talk about how well something is at holding or hanging on to something else. For example, a business’s ability to retain employees or, more importantly, paying customers over time is often a key way to tell if a company is growing or failing.

Did you know … ?

What are some other forms related to retention?

• nonretention (noun)
• overretention (noun)

What are some synonyms for retention?

• custody
• detention
• memory
• remembrance
• keeping
• holding

What are some words that share a root or word element with retention?

• retain
• retentionist
• retention suture

What are some words that often get used in discussing retention?

• rate
• staff
• customer
• water
• information
• memory

How is retention used in real life?

Retention is often used to describe something’s ability to hang on to things like memories or customers.

Was just briefly looking at some Peloton data and their customer retention after two years is among the best in the industry.

— Ben Bajarin (@BenBajarin) September 24, 2020

I just published How Laughter Increases Student’s Learning and Memory Retention https://t.co/kKhSCS8Q5P

— Dennise Heckman M.Ed. (@DenniseHeckman) September 27, 2020

Good toast making is about heat retention and saturated butter melt capacity. And good bread.👍🏽

— stuart murdoch (@nee_massey) May 15, 2020

Try using retention!

Which of the following is a synonym of retention?

A. release
B. prevention
C. holding
D. discovery