Also means
reserve unit
Usage Note
Retén has two main meanings: a police or military checkpoint (un retén de policía) and a reserve unit or standby squad kept ready for deployment. In Latin American countries the first sense — a roadside checkpoint — is very common. The plural is retenes. The accent on the e shifts the stress to the final syllable, which is regular for words ending in a consonant other than n/s.
Examples
"El coche fue detenido en un retén policial."
Natural Translation
The car was stopped at a police checkpoint.
Related Words
Explore Spanish by topic
SpanishNow
6 min read