Re-tāin'er, n.

n. 1. One who retains.

2. One who is retained or kept in service; an attendant; an adherent; a hanger-on.
3. Hence, a servant, not a domestic, but occasionally attending and wearing his master's livery. Cowell. Brande.
4. (Law.) The act of a client by which he engages a lawyer or counselor to manage his cause; the act of withholding what one has in his hands by virtue of some right; a fee paid to engage a lawyer or counselor to maintain a cause, or to prevent his being employed by the opposite party; — called also retaining fee. Bouvier. Blackstone.
5. The act of keeping dependents, or being in dependence. Bacon.