Both Uses of
retention
in
Middlemarch
- For the most glutinously indefinite minds enclose some hard grains of habit; and a man has been seen lax about all his own interests except the retention of his snuff-box, concerning which he was watchful, suspicious, and greedy of clutch.†
Chpt 1 *
- Metaphors and precedents were not wanting; peculiar spiritual experiences were not wanting which at last made the retention of his position seem a service demanded of him: the vista of a fortune had already opened itself, and Bulstrode's shrinking remained private.†
Chpt 6
Definition:
-
(retention) to keep or continue to haveThe exact meaning of retention depends upon its context. For example:
- a student's retention -- what a student remembers (holds onto in memory)
- freshman retention -- the number of freshman who return to the school the next year
- employee retention -- how successful a firm is at keeping employees over the long term
- water retention -- the holding of water in the body -- as in "a salt-free diet to reduce water retention"
- retention bonus -- a cash bonus paid to encourage a good employee to stay with a firm
- retention basin -- a ponding area -- typically intended to hold stormwater