retrieve
Americanverb (used with object)
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to recover or regain.
to retrieve the stray ball.
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to bring back to a former and better state; restore.
to retrieve one's fortunes.
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to make amends for.
to retrieve an error.
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to make good; repair.
to retrieve a loss.
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Hunting. (of hunting dogs) to fetch (killed or wounded game).
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to draw back or reel in (a fishing line).
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to rescue; save.
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(in tennis, squash, handball, etc.) to make an in-bounds return of (a shot requiring running with the hand extended).
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Computers. to locate and read (data) from storage, as for display on a monitor.
verb (used without object)
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Hunting. to retrieve game.
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to retrieve a fishing line.
noun
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an act of retrieving; recovery.
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the possibility of recovery.
verb
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to get or fetch back again; recover
he retrieved his papers from various people's drawers
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to bring back to a more satisfactory state; revive
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to extricate from trouble or danger; rescue or save
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to recover or make newly available (stored information) from a computer system
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(also intr) (of a dog) to find and fetch (shot game)
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tennis squash badminton to return successfully (a shot difficult to reach)
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to recall; remember
noun
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the act of retrieving
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the chance of being retrieved
Related Words
See recover.
Other Word Forms
- nonretrievable adjective
- retrievability noun
- retrievable adjective
- retrievably adverb
- unretrievable adjective
- unretrieved adjective
Etymology
Origin of retrieve
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English retreven, from Middle French retroev-, retreuv-, tonic stem of retrouver “to find again,” equivalent to re- re- + trouver “to find”; trover
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The research, published in Optica, Optica Publishing Group's journal for high-impact research, shows that this new technique can increase how much information is stored while also making it easier to retrieve.
From Science Daily • Mar. 29, 2026
"Our teams continue to follow up legitimate leads regarding the location of Samba, however, we have so far been unable to find and retrieve her," said chief executive Laura Read.
From BBC • Mar. 25, 2026
She said she decided not to file an appeal after a judge denied her asylum claim and that an ICE agent and a social worker were dispatched to Florida to retrieve the girls.
From Salon • Mar. 24, 2026
They can print documents, buy concert tickets, ship parcels, and retrieve online shopping orders from automated kiosks.
From Barron's • Mar. 21, 2026
She reaches down to retrieve the fallen card, but her hand freezes just above it when she hears something.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
