definitions

archive

[ ahr-kahyv ]
/ ˈɑr kaɪv /
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR archive ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Usually archives. documents or records relating to the activities, business dealings, etc., of a person, family, corporation, association, community, or nation.
archives, a place where public records or other historical documents are kept.
any extensive record or collection of data: The encyclopedia is an archive of world history. The experience was sealed in the archive of her memory.
Digital Technology.
  1. a long-term storage device, as a disk or magnetic tape, or a computer directory or folder that contains copies of files for backup or future reference.
  2. a collection of digital data stored in this way.
  3. a computer file containing one or more compressed files.
  4. a collection of information permanently stored on the Internet: The magazine has its entire archive online, from 1923 to the present.

verb (used with object), ar·chived, ar·chiv·ing.

to place or store in an archive: to vote on archiving the city's historic documents.
Digital Technology. to compress (computer files) and store them in a single file.

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RELATED WORDS

repository, office, museum, storage, library, treasury, vault, athenaeum, registry

Nearby words

architecture, architecture parlante, architrave, archival, archival storage, archive, archivist, archivolt, archliberal, archlute, archly

Origin of archive

1595–1605; orig., as plural < French archives < Latin archī(v)a < Greek archeîa, orig. plural of archeîon public office, equivalent to arch(ḗ) magistracy, office + -eion suffix of place
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for archives

British Dictionary definitions for archives

archive

/ (ˈɑːkaɪv) /

noun (often plural)

a collection of records of or about an institution, family, etc
a place where such records are kept
computing data transferred to a tape or disk for long-term storage rather than frequent use

verb (tr)

to store (documents, data, etc) in an archive or other repository

Derived Forms

archival, adjective

Word Origin for archive

C17: from Late Latin archīvum, from Greek arkheion repository of official records, from arkhē government
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012