Retard /(?)/

Re·tard

Retard

v. t.

imp. & p. p. Retarded; p. pr. & vb. n. Retarding

  1. To keep delaying; to continue to hinder; to prevent from progress; to render more slow in progress; to impede; to hinder; as, to retard the march of an army; to retard the motion of a ship; -- opposed to accelerate.
  2. To put off; to postpone; as, to retard the attacks of old age; to retard a rupture between nations.

Retard

v. i.
  1. To stay back. [Obs.]

Retard

n.
  1. Retardation; delay.
  2. A mentally retarded person. [Colloq. and disparaging]
  3. a person who is stupid or inept, especially in social situations. [Colloq. and disparaging]

Phrases & Compounds
Retard of the tide
the interval between the transit of the moon at which a tide originates and the appearance of the tide itself. It is found, in general, that any particular tide is not principally due to the moon's transit immediately proceeding, but to a transit which has occured some time before, and which is said to correspond to it. The retard of the tide is thus distinguished from the lunitidal interval. See under Retardation.