To employ by paying a retainer.
To hold back (a pupil) instead of allowing them to advance to the next class or year.
To keep in one's pay or service.
To keep in possession or use.
To hold secure.
To treat as a write-off, a total loss, especially something damaged beyond economic repair.
To record (an expenditure) as an expense.
To remove a portion of a debt or an amount of an account owed, counting it as a loss (as a gesture of goodwill for example).
To reduce the book value of (an asset) to zero.
To record a notional expense such as amortization or depreciation.
To assign a low value to (something).