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# retain

«retain» in Mova's school dictionary: **to keep something and not lose it or give it away** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 1 sentence of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

verb (retain, retains, retained, retaining)

### meaning for a pupil

1) To retain is to keep something and not lose it or give it away. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/retain/#m1)

2) To retain is to hold something in: a sponge retains water, a flask retains heat. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/retain/#m2)

3) To retain facts is to remember them. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/retain/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

In maths: what is kept after giving away or spending a part; retained = start − given away. In science: soil retains water; wool and fur retain heat. In school: revising helps you retain what you learned. In everyday life: keep (retain) your receipt.

### examples

- She gave away 8 of her 20 stickers and retained the rest. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/retain/#x1)
- The shop retains 10% of the price. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/retain/#x2)
- How many marbles did he retain? [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/retain/#x3)
- The soil retains 2 liters of water. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/retain/#x4)
- Clay soil retains more water than sandy soil. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/retain/#x5)
- A flask retains heat for hours. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/retain/#x6)
- Reading notes again helps you retain facts. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/retain/#x7)
- The team retained the trophy for another year. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/retain/#x8)
- But above all he retained the passion for good form. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/retain/#x9)

### note

What is retained = start minus what is given away. Trap: the question may ask for the part kept, not the part given away. «Retain» is a formal word for «keep». Past: retained.

### In the corpora

- [He retaineth not His anger for ever, because He delighteth in mercy.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/neviim/jps/MIC.117/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «retain» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/retain/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.