n · academic

retention

/rɪˈtɛnʃən/re·TEN·tion

Band 6-7task2task1speaking

the act of keeping something or continuing to have something; ability to remember information

Examples

Student retention rates at the university have improved after the support programme.

Soil retention is essential to prevent erosion on slopes.

Memory retention declines if you don't review material regularly.

Band 8 sentence

Improving teacher quality was identified as a key factor in raising student retention rates across the district.

Collocations

  • retention rate
  • memory retention
  • employee retention

Word family

retain vretentive adj

Common mistakes

keepretain/retention

Say it for a higher band

5keep6retain7+retention (as noun)

Synonyms

preservation

Easily confused

retention vs retention rate

The retention rate of the cohort increased after the intervention.

Related words

Learn this word with the rest of its set, and get reminded at the right time.

In Sublist 8

Learn it with its set