Word.ws English Dictionary

retro-

Syllables: re·tro-/ˈɹɛtɹəʊ-/US/ˈɹɛtɹoʊ-/

retro- prefix: back or backward.

Prefix

retro-

  1. Back or backward.
  2. Behind.
  3. In the opposite direction.
  4. Pertaining to an earlier time.
    • retroactive
  5. (informal) Old-fashioned or old school.
    Synonyms:
    re-

Synonyms of retro-

Antonyms

Origin of retro-

See retro.

Words formed from retro-

Questions about retro-

What does retro- mean?
Retro- means back or backward.
What part of speech is retro-?
Retro- is a prefix.
How do you pronounce retro-?
Retro- is pronounced /ˈɹɛtɹəʊ-/ (UK).

Words near retro- in the dictionary

  1. retro gaming
  2. retro rocket
  3. retro rockets
  4. retro running
  5. retro slop
  6. retro-
  7. retro-colonial
  8. retro-engine
  9. retro-engineer
  10. retro-engineered
  11. retro-engineering

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: retro- (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-retro.wav.

Cite this entry: “retro-.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/retro-. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.