retrieval
Americannoun
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the act of retrieving.
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the chance of recovery or restoration.
Sadly, many aboriginal languages have been lost beyond retrieval.
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Psychology. the act or process of accessing information previously encoded and stored in memory.
The article explores the use of picture matching tasks to assist in word retrieval in aphasic patients.
noun
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the act or process of retrieving
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the possibility of recovery, restoration, or rectification (esp in the phrase beyond retrieval )
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a computer filing operation that recalls records or other data from a file
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of retrieval
Explanation
The act of bringing something back is called retrieval. When you throw a tennis ball to Fido and he brings it back to you, that's retrieval. When you lose something and get it back, that's retrieval, whether it's a tote bag you accidentally left at the library or a file you can't find on your computer. In fact, the word retrieval is a common one in computer science, meaning "the act of accessing information." The word comes from the verb retrieve, which was first used in the fifteenth century to describe a hunting dog bringing a dead bird back from a field.
Vocabulary lists containing retrieval
Psychology
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Biology-Information Processing - High School
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Biology-Information Processing - Middle School
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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.
Once the lander arrives, NASA’s Perseverance rover would carry its collection of Martian sample tubes to the Sample Retrieval Lander.
From Salon • Jan. 31, 2024
Retrieval suppression is not the only way to dim traumatic or upsetting memories.
From Scientific American • Oct. 19, 2022
The application offers the option to get your federal tax return information from the IRS Data Retrieval Tool.
From Seattle Times • Sep. 27, 2022
EDGAR, or the Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval system, has a database of filings submitted by companies and others, which are required by law to file forms with the SEC.
From Reuters • Dec. 22, 2021
All around her Retrieval Cleaners scanned the grounds for any trace of the siege.
From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer
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.
