Retro describes styles, designs, or fashions from the past that people bring back because they find them cool, fun, or charming. When something is retro, it deliberately copies or celebrates an older look, often from 20 to 50 years ago.

A video game might use retro graphics that look pixelated and simple, like games from the 1980s. A diner might have a retro design with chrome stools, checkered floors, and neon signs from the 1950s. Someone might wear retro sneakers styled like shoes athletes wore in the 1970s.

Retro is different from actually being old. An authentic arcade game from 1982 is vintage. A brand-new arcade game made in 2024 that mimics that 1982 style is retro. The word captures a kind of nostalgia, a warm feeling for the past, without pretending something is actually from that era.

People enjoy retro styles because they connect to times that seem simpler, more colorful, or just different from today. A retro lunchbox might feature bold colors and cartoon characters in an old-fashioned art style. Retro fashion might include bell-bottom jeans or tie-dye shirts that were popular decades ago.