Verb

To withdraw; to take away; -- sometimes used reflexively.

* Sir Philip Sidney

He retired himself, his wife, and children into a forest.

* Sir J. Davies

As when the sun is present all the year, / And never doth retire his golden ray.

To withdraw from circulation, or from the market; to take up and pay; as, to retire bonds; to retire a note.

The central bank retired those notes five years ago.

To cause to retire; specifically, to designate as no longer qualified for active service; to place on the retired list; as, to retire a military or naval officer.

The board retired the old major.

(transitive, cricket, of a batsman) to voluntarily stop batting before being dismissed so that the next batsman can bat

Jones retired in favour of Smith.

(transitive, baseball, of a fielder), to make a defensive play which results in a runner or the batter being put out

Jones retired Smith 6-3.

To go back or return; to draw back or away; to keep aloof; to withdraw or retreat, as from observation; to go into privacy; as, to retire to his home; to retire from the world, or from notice.

I will retire to the study.''

To retreat from action or danger; to withdraw for safety or pleasure; as, to retire from battle.

The regiment retired from the fray after the Major was killed.

To withdraw from a public station, from working, or from business

Having made a large fortune, he retired .

He wants to retire at 55.

To recede; to fall or bend back; as, the shore of the sea retires in bays and gulfs.

Past the point, the shore retires into a sequence of coves.

To go to bed; as, he usually retires early.

I will retire for the night.

Verb

(es)

To calm down.

To make something loose.

to relax''' a rope or cord; to '''relax the muscles or sinews

* Milton

Horror all his joints relaxed .

To become loose.

To make something less severe or tense.

to relax''' discipline; to '''relax one's attention or endeavours

To become less severe or tense.

To make something (such as codes and regulations) more lenient.

* Jonathan Swift

The stature of mortmain was at several times relaxed by the legislature.

{{quote-book

, year=1953 , author=Edward Corwin , title=The Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Interpretation , chapter=Section 2. Jurisdiction citation , page=589 , passage=The Court rejected the contention that the doctrine of sovereign immunity should be relaxed as inapplicable to suits for specific relief as distinguished from damage suits, saying: "The Government, as representative of the community as a whole, cannot be stopped in its tracks by any plaintiff who presents a disputed question of property or contract right."}}

(of codes and regulations) To become more lenient.

To relieve (something) from stress.

Amusement relaxes the mind.

(dated) To relieve from constipation; to loosen; to open.

An aperient relaxes the bowels.