Retaining meaning : To keep in possession or use. To keep in one's pay or service. To employ by paying a retainer. To hold secure. To hold back (a pupil) instead of allowing them to advance to the next class or year. To restrain; to prevent. To belong; to pertain. The act by which something or someone is retained; a retention. Of or pertaining to something that retains something else, as with a retaining wall.