English · Word Candidate

retain

/ɹɪˈteɪn/

Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Also seen as: retains · retaining · retained

Sense 1

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

Often followed by from: to hold back (someone or something); to check, to prevent, to restrain, to stop.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Giữ lại, thường theo sau bởi từ: giữ lại ai đó hoặc một thứ gì đó, kiểm tra, ngăn chặn, kìm hãm, dừng

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Verb

Examples

Upon vvhich Prince Henry enraged, took up the Cheſs-board, and ſtruck the Dauphin vvith ſuch Fury on the Head, that he laid him bleeding on the Ground, and had killed him if his Brother Robert had not retained him, and made him ſenſible hovv much more it concerned him to make his Eſcape than purſue

Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01)

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01 via kaikki.org).

Sense 2

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

Often followed by from: to hold back (someone or something); to check, to prevent, to restrain, to stop. — To hold back (a pupil) instead of allowing them to advance to the next class or year; to keep back.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

ngăn chặn, giữ lại

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Verb

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01 via kaikki.org).

Common questions

What does “retain” mean?

Often followed by from: to hold back (someone or something); to check, to prevent, to restrain, to stop.

Is “retain” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.