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retro

1 American  
[re-troh] / ˈrɛ troʊ /

adjective

Informal.

  1. retroactive.

    retro pay.

  2. of or designating the style of an earlier time.

    retro clothes.
retro- 2 American  

  1. a prefix occurring in loanwords from Latin meaning “backward” (retrogress ); on this model, used in the formation of compound words (retrorocket ).

retro- 1 British  

prefix

  1. back or backwards

    retroactive

  2. located behind

    retrolental
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
retro 2 British  
/ ˈrɛtrəʊ /

noun

  1. short for retrorocket

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

adjective

  1. denoting something associated with or revived from the past

    retro dressing

    retro fashion
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of retro1

By shortening

Origin of retro-2

< Latin, representing retrō (adv.), backward, back, behind

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.