Everyday Office Jargon · Vice President level

"On retainer"

"On retainer" means a consultant, lawyer, or agency is paid a recurring fee to be available and provide services as needed.

Say this instead: on call

How "On retainer" shows up at work

Common in legal, PR, and agency contexts. For the client it implies reliable access; for the vendor it means a monthly payment that may require very little in return, which is why everyone wants to be on retainer.

Buzzword

We have a PR firm on retainer that can handle any media inquiries that come in.

Plain English

We have a PR firm available at any time that can handle any media inquiries that come in.

Corporate Rank: Vice President · Category: Everyday Office Jargon

Stop sounding like the buzzword.

Buzzkill highlights "On retainer" and 634 other buzzwords in Gmail and LinkedIn, and rewrites them to plain English in one click. Free to try, 100% local.

Add to Chrome, free

More Everyday Office Jargon: 30,000 ft. View · 800-pound gorilla · A day late and a dollar short · A lot on my plate · Above my pay grade · Ace in the hole

All Everyday Office Jargon · The full library · What's your Corporate Rank?