retrieval

American  

[ri-tree-vuhl] / rɪˈtri vəl /

noun

• retrievals
  plural

1. the act of retrieving.

2. the chance of recovery or restoration.

   Sadly, many aboriginal languages have been lost beyond retrieval.

3. 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.

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retrieval British  

/ rɪˈtriːvəl /

noun

1. the act or process of retrieving

2. the possibility of recovery, restoration, or rectification (esp in the phrase beyond retrieval )

3. a computer filing operation that recalls records or other data from a file

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• retrievals
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of retrieval

First recorded in 1635–45; retrieve + -al ²

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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 15th century to describe a hunting dog bringing a dead bird back from a field.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

retrieval retrievals

Freezing your eggs is an expensive procedure that costs somewhere in the region of $20,000 per retrieval.

From Slate ● Oct. 16, 2026

“Delay in information retrieval, such as the name of an acquaintance, a movie, or a famous person, becomes more common as one gets older and does not necessarily signal an underlying memory problem.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026

"Currently, we are focused on the retrieval, and after that we will proceed with the investigation," she said, confirming the bodies had been found in the ship's economy accommodation area.

From Barron's ● Sep. 12, 2026

Their testimony has described encounters with objects capable of manoeuvres far beyond known human technology, alongside claims of secretive crash retrieval programmes.

From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026

Seema’s hand seemed to shrivel, and she straightened up, giving up on cookie retrieval completely.

From "When Dimple Met Rishi" by Sandhya Menon

It not only covered more services than other states, including three egg retrievals and unlimited embryo transfers, it covered them for more people.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 2026

From what I know about egg retrievals, it seems entirely plausible that this will be the case for you.

From MarketWatch ● May 11, 2026

The couple decided they would both undergo egg retrievals, figuring they had a better chance of retrieving more eggs while they were still in their 30s.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 14, 2025

"To determine the abundances of molecules in Wolf 1130C, I used a modeling technique known as atmospheric retrievals," said Gonzales.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 9, 2025

After years of miscarriages and egg retrievals, I did not have a baby.

From Slate ● Feb. 27, 2024

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