verb · neutral
retain
/rɪˈteɪn/re·TAIN
Band 5-6task2speaking
to keep possession of something or continue to have something
Examples
“Students tend to retain information better when they revise regularly.”
“The company retained its market share despite new competitors.”
“Legal counsel advised the client to retain the documents for five years.”
Band 8 sentence
“Effective mentoring programmes help organisations retain skilled staff and reduce turnover costs.”
Collocations
- retain information
- retain control/rights
- retain employees
Word family
retention nounretained adj
Common mistakes
retain the informations→retain information
Say it for a higher band
5keep→6maintain→7+retain
Synonyms
keep
Easily confused
maintain
“They maintain high standards across all departments.”
Related words
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In Sublist 7
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