Origin: Latin suffix -tion
Retention has 4 different meanings across 1 category:
the power of retaining and recalling past experience
"he had a good memory when he was younger"
The act of retaining or something retained
"The school's student retention rate increased after they introduced new mentorship programs."
In plain English: Retention is keeping something, like information or customers, from leaving your mind or business.
"The new policy aims to improve employee retention by offering better benefits and flexible schedules."
Usage: Retention refers to the ability to keep information in memory, such as how well students retain facts after studying. It is often confused with retention rates in business contexts, which measure employee longevity rather than memorization.
The word retention comes from Middle English and ultimately from Latin, where it originally meant an act of holding something back. It entered English with this same core sense of keeping or retaining possession.