1177
retire
now and resume working at two o'clock. 2 [T] fml to take
again: Kindly resume your seats, ladies and gentlemen.
ré-su-mé /'rezjumeɪ, 'reɪ-||,rezu'meɪ/ n 1 [(off)] a shortened
form of a speech, book etc; SUMMARY 2 AmE for CURRICULUM
VITAE
re-sump-tion /rɪ'zmpʃən/ n [U] fml the act of resuming: the
resumption of business after a holiday
re-sur-face /,rɪ'sɜːfɪs||-sɜːr-/ v 1 [T] to put a new surface
on (a road) 2 [I] to come back to the surface: The children
watched as the submarine resurfaced. | (fig.) Old rivalries are
beginning to resurface.
re-sur-gence /rɪ'sɜːdʒəns||-sɜːr-/ n [S;U] the return of ideas,
beliefs etc to a state of being active and noticeable: There
has been a resurgence of interest in her work after a period of
neglect. | a resurgence of terrorist activity —gent adj: resur-
gent interest
res-ur-rect /,rezə'rekt/ v [T] 1 often derog to bring back into
use, existence, or fashion; REVIVE: The government resurrected
an ancient law in order to punish the ringleaders. | resurrect-
ing old quarrels 2 rare to bring back to life
res·ur·rec·tion /,rezə'rekʃən/ n 1 [U] fml the act of resur-
recting something; renewal: The plan has now been dropped,
with little hope of resurrection. 2 I am the resurrection and
the life phrase from the Bible one of the most important phrases
said by Jesus, a promise that people who believe in him will
live forever
Resurrection, the 1 the return of Christ to life after his
death as described in the Bible, which is remembered with
ceremonies at Easter, and is one of the main beliefs on
which Christianity is based 2 the return of all dead people to
life at the end of the world. Christians believe that, as a result
of Christ's resurrection, the souls of people who believe in
him will be united with their bodies on JUDGMENT DAY, in a
form that will last for ever.
re-sus-ci-tate /rɪ'sʌsɪteɪt/ v [T] to bring (a person or
animal that is almost dead) back to life: They tried to
resuscitate the drowned man. —tation /rɪ,sʌsɪ'teɪʃən/ n [U]
Despite our attempts at resuscitation, she died.
re-tail¹ /'riːteɪl/ n [U] the sale of goods in shops to custom-
ers, for their own use and not for selling to anyone else: the
retail of goods | retail prices | a retail outlet (=a shop) →
compare WHOLESALE
retail² adv by retail; from a retailer: I bought it retail.
retail³ v [I+at/for;T] tech to sell or be sold by retail: In this shop
they retail tobacco and sweets. | These socks retail at £5 a pair.
re-tail⁴ /'riːteɪl/ v [T] to tell (especially unpleasant facts about
a person) to other people: Who is responsible for retailing
these rumours about him?
retail ,bank n BrE a bank which has branches in many towns
and provides services to ordinary people and small companies
re-tail-er /'riːteɪlər/ n someone who sells things by retail;
shopkeeper
retail 'price ,index, the abbrev. RPI n an official system
(in Britain) which is a monthly measure of the prices of
goods and services bought by an average person, to show
changes in the cost of living → see also CONSUMER PRICE
INDEX
retail ,therapy n [U] humor the act of buying things that you
do not need when you are unhappy because you think it
will make you feel better
retail ,trade n 1 [U] the business of selling goods to the
public in shops 2 [C] a particular kind of business that sells
goods to the public in shops
re-tain /rɪ'teɪn/ v [T] rather fml 1 to keep possession of; avoid
losing: She tried to retain her self-control/her balance. | This
village still retains its old-world character. | His business has
been taken over by a big corporation, but he still retains some
control over it. | Lead retains heat well. | a heavy soil that
retains water → see also RETENTION 2 to hold in place: The
dam retains the waters of the lake. | A retaining wall holds
the earth in place. 3 to employ (especially a lawyer or
adviser) to act for one, by paying in advance
re-tain-er /rɪ'teɪnər/ n 1 an amount of money paid regu-
larly to someone such as a lawyer or adviser, so that they
will continue to be available to work for you 2 BrE a reduced
amount of rent that you pay for a room, apartment etc
when you are not there, so that it will still be available when
you return 3 AmE a BRACE that you wear on your teeth to
keep them straight 4 old use a servant, especially one who
has worked for a particular person or family for a long time:
an old and trusted retainer
re-take¹ /,riː'teɪk/ v -took /'tʊk/, -taken /'teɪkən/ [T] 1 to
regain possession of (a place lost in war): We retook the city
after severe fighting. 2 to record or film again
re-take² /'riːteɪk/ n an act of filming or recording something
again: I forgot my lines, so they had to do a retake.
re-tal-i-ate /rɪ'tælieɪt/ v [I(against)] to do something bad to
someone who has done something bad to you: One of their
players kicked me, so I retaliated and kicked him back. | When
they refused to allow our exports into their country, we retali-
ated by putting a tax on goods from their country. —ation
/rɪ,tæli'eɪʃən/ n [U] The government decided against military
retaliation for the terrorist attack. | a tax imposed in retalia-
tion for their import restrictions
re-tal-i-a-tory /rɪ'tæliətəri||-tɔːri/ adj fml done in retaliation:
a retaliatory kick | a retaliatory bombing raid
re-tard¹ /rɪ'tɑːd||-ɑːrd/ v [T] especially fml or tech to delay,
especially in development; cause to happen later than usual
or expected: Cold weather retards the growth of the crops.
—ation /,riːtɑː'deɪʃən||-ɑːr-/ n [U]
re-tard² /'riːtɑːd||-ɑːrd/ n AmE infml derog a person with a
mental disability; an offensive word used especially by
children
re-tard-ed /rɪ'tɑːdɪd||-ɑːr-/ adj (especially of a child) slower
in development or less able than others: Lucy is very
retarded and can't read yet. | mentally retarded
retch /retʃ/ v [I] to try to VOMIT (=be sick), especially without
success
retd written abbrev. for RETIRED: Captain Percy Truscott RN (retd)
re-tell /,riː'tel/ v -told /'təʊld/ [T] to tell (a story) again in a
new way or different language: German fairy stories retold in
English
re-ten-tion /rɪ'tenən/ n [U] fml the state or action of retain-
ing (RETAIN): Retention of urine is the inability to pass urine
from the body. | The swelling is due to water retention. | They
advocate the retention of our nuclear power plants. (=that
they should be kept)
re-ten-tive /rɪ'tentɪv/ adj able to RETAIN things, especially
facts in the mind: She has a very retentive memory. —ly adv
—ness n [U]
re-think¹ /,riː'θŋk/ v -thought /'θɔːt/ [I;T] to think (about)
again; reconsider (an idea, plan etc), especially with the
likelihood of changing it: We'd better rethink our whole
strategy. | If that's what he wants, he'll have to rethink.
re-think² /'riːθɪŋk/ n [S] an act of rethinking: It's clearly not
going to work in the way we'd originally intended; we'll have
to have a rethink.
ret-i-cent /'retɪsənt/ adj (of a person or their behaviour)
unwilling to speak; not expressing as much as is known or
felt: He was reticent about the reasons for the quarrel. —ly
adv —cence n [U]
re-tic-u-la-ted /rɪ'tɪkjʊleɪtɪd/ also re-tic-u-late /-kjʊlɪt/
adj tech forming or covered with a netlike pattern of squares
and lines: a reticulated leaf
ret-i-cule /'retɪkjuːl/ n old use or humor a small handbag
ret-i-na /'retɪnə/ n pl. -nas or -nae /-niː/ an area at the back of
the eye that receives light and sends an image of what is
seen through nerves to the brain → see picture at EYE
ret-i-nue /'retɪnjuː||-nuː/ n [C+sing./pl. v] a group of helpers
and followers travelling with an important person: Two
whole floors of the hotel were booked for the president's reti-
nue.
re-tire /rɪ'taər/ v 1 [I;T] to (cause to) stop working at one's
job, profession etc, usually because of age: My father retired
(from his job in the Civil Service) at the age of 60. | They retired
her on full pay. 2 [I(from, to)] fml to go away to a quiet or less
central place: Members of the jury, you must now retire to
consider your verdict. 3 [I] fml or humor to go to bed → compare
RISE 4 [I] (especially of an army) to move back intentionally,
without being forced to: Our armies have retired to regroup
for a fresh attack. → compare RETREAT and light the blue
touchpaper and retire immediately (TOUCHPAPER)