Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
👴 To stop working 🚪 To remove from job 🚶 To withdraw 💸 To remove from use 🛏️ To go to bed ⚾ To end a turn
to retire

to retire

7 5.2
Cause a player or team to end their turn after a play
  • verb
  • /rɪˈtaɪər/
  • Jargon
translation icon : eliminar
  • The Bats bullpen has now retired 24 straight hitters and tossed nine straight scoreless innings.
  • retire a batter
  • retire batters in a row
  • retire the first batter

There's a double to center field, Stone H makes the play, throws over to Brian L and Kendall L retires all three batters.

Examples

  • Michael Bowden took over in the sixth ... and retired the side in order.

    Blog text (6)

  • Chase makes a heads-up play and throws to Everth Cabrera to retire Matt Kemp.

    Blog text (17)

  • Fidel pops out to finally retire the side.

    The Perfect Game (2009)

  • Chapel has done it for eight, retiring 24 consecutive batters.

    For Love of the Game (1999)

  • LaMVP: Lannan needed just nine pitches to retire the Marlins in order in the top of the third.

    Blog text (18)

  • Tim Lincecum retired Castro on a grounder to third for the first out in the seventh.

    Blog text (6)

  • Saturday night in Oakland, Athletics right-hander A.J. Griffin retired the first 14 Red Sox he faced.

    Blog text (20)

  • The lefty Drew Smyly retires Brandon Crawford on a fly ball.

    Blog text (4)

  • Twenty-two consecutive outs retired by Billy Chapel and he goes head-to-head with Lenny Howell.

    For Love of the Game (1999)

  • The pitcher struck out three batters in the inning, effectively retiring the side without allowing any runs.

Synonyms

to put out
vsto retire
  • Jargon
13 7.3

Cause a player to be out in a game like baseball

applies more broadly to ending a turn or leaving the field after any play

Antonyms

to play
∞ 1.0

Take part in a game or sport for fun

Surface Forms

retire infinitive
retired past
retired past participle
retiring present participle
retires third person singular

Morphology

retire = tire (opaque) = re + tire

The sports-related meaning of 'retire' is not directly derivable from 'tire' or 're-' in a standard way.

Etymology

Retire comes from the parts re- 'back' and tract 'pull' (like in tractor), so it meant 'to pull back'. In sport, to retire a player is to end their turn or send them off the field, like 'pulling them out' of play.