Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use retainer in a sentence

13 example sentences · noun

Retainer means any thing or person that retains. Example: “This lawyer charges a retainer for his work.”

Examples of retainer by meaning

nounA dependent or follower of someone of rank.

  • If they possessed the means to marshal labour, pile up food resources and provender armies of year-round retainers, what sort of royalty would consciously elect not to do so.2021 October 19, David Graeber, David Wengrowr, “Unfreezing the ice age: the truth about humanity’s deep past”, in The Guardian, UK

nounA fee one pays to reserve the other's time for services.

  • This lawyer charges a retainer for his work.

nounA device that holds teeth in position after orthodontic treatment.

  • I've hand-washed your retainer.2017, Mike Oppenhuizen, Jen Regan, “The D-Train to Bone Town” (27:47 from the start), in Michael Patrick Jann, director, Atypical, season...

More sentences with retainer

  • Once we’ve met, you'll need to pay the non-refundable retainer to lock it in Eddie!2023, “Archived copy”, in Henry Paul Photography, archived from the original on 28 Aug 2023. From the entry lock it in, Eddie
  • For basic samples, triethylamine is used as the retainer base and HCL as the eluter acid.2019, Nelu Grinberg, Sonia Rodriguez, Ewing's Analytical Instrumentation Handbook, page 833. From the entry eluter
  • At last, when the tribute slackened, he motioned to his retainers to sweep up the treasure.1984, John Henry Cary, Julius Weinberg, The Social Fabric: American life from 1607 to 1877. From the entry Kleagle
  • For the separation of acidic solutes, TFA is most often used as the retainer acid and NH₃ as the eluter base.2019, Nelu Grinberg, Sonia Rodriguez, Ewing's Analytical Instrumentation Handbook, page 833. From the entry eluter
  • He became my retainer, my batman, the solution to my ever-growing need for an extra pair of hands.2008, Darren Smith, Fade, →ISBN, page 278. From the entry batman
  • By now, however, it's unlikely that even this faithful retainer can once more pull Bush's chestnuts out of the fire.2006 Oct. 9, Jacob Heilbrunn, "‘Work Hard, Study ... and Keep Out of Politics!’" (book review), New York Times (retrieved 23 Oct 2011). From the entry pull someone's chestnuts out of the fire
  • Moreover, the residents recalled that the aristocrat's pet canary had become like a personal retainer, waking his master in the morning and sugaring his drink.2002, Frank Tallis, Hidden Minds: A History of the Unconscious. From the entry sugar
  • Copulatingly noble of you, loyal retainer.1999, Charles Laurence, The Ring Sisters, page 38. From the entry copulatingly
  • Then, fetching a wide compass, he worked back at leisure, for he needed time to invent a story if any of Mahbub's retainers asked questions.1901, Rudyard Kipling, Kim. From the entry compass
  • It is difficult to know how accurate this portrait is, and how much of it consists of sweet nothings whispered into the author's ear by loyal retainers.2004 April 25, Joe Klein, “Does Bush Really Get Us?”, in Time, archived from the original on 03 Nov 2010. From the entry sweet nothings

Meaning of retainer

  1. noun Any thing or person that retains.
  2. noun A dependent or follower of someone of rank.
  3. noun A paid servant, especially one who has been employed for many years.

Full definition of retainer

Questions about retainer in a sentence

How do you use retainer in a sentence?
Retainer is used as a noun. For example: “This lawyer charges a retainer for his work.”
What is a short sentence with retainer?
“I've hand-washed your retainer.”
What does retainer mean?
Retainer means any thing or person that retains.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: retainer (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “How to use retainer in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/retainer. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.