Definition of retainer
- n. - One who, or that which, retains.
- n. - One who is retained or kept in service; an attendant; an
adherent; a hanger-on.
- n. - Hence, a servant, not a domestic, but occasionally
attending and wearing his master's livery.
- n. - The act of a client by which he engages a lawyer or
counselor to manage his cause.
- n. - The act of withholding what one has in his hands by
virtue of some right.
- n. - A fee paid to engage a lawyer or counselor to maintain a
cause, or to prevent his being employed by the opposing party in the
case; -- called also retaining fee.
- n. - The act of keeping dependents, or the state of being in
dependence.