Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Retroactive.
  • adjective Involving, relating to, or reminiscent of an earlier time; retrospective.
  • noun Fashion or style, as in music, reminiscent of an earlier time.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective of, or relating to the past, past times, or the way things were
  • adjective affecting things past; retroactive, ex post facto
  • noun something, such as a fashion, from the past; a retro trend
  • noun a retrorocket

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From French rétro.

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Examples

Comments

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  • I've got no problem with retro fashion, except that it's not taken far enough. To dress, dance, discourse like a Victorian, say, or a Phoenician, or a Jute - that's stylish. But pretending it's the 1980's is a bit sad, and not at all original.

    June 9, 2009

  • I read blogs where retro is bandied around to describe things that my mum threw out because they were old rubbish. Clearly I don't have any future in style - which pleases me.

    June 15, 2009

  • In NASA control rooms, short for Retrofire Officer (used during Apollo missions).

    July 25, 2009