verb
retain
To hire someone to provide professional services.
The family retains an attorney to handle the estate.
Etymology
Latin retinere means to hold back or keep. Hiring a professional on retainer secures or keeps that person’s services available for one’s use.
More examples
- They retained a surveyor.
- The company is retaining outside advisers.
- She had retained an accountant for the audit.
Forms
retain · retains · retained · retaining
retention noun — the act of keeping something