retrieve
Americanverb (used with object)
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retrieves,
present (3rd person singular)
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retrieved,
past participle, past
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retrieving
present participle
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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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retrieves,
present (3rd person singular)
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retrieved,
past participle, past
-
retrieving
present participle
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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
Synonym Usage
See recover.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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retrievabilitynoun
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nonretrievableadjective
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retrievableadjective
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unretrievableadjective
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unretrievedadjective
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retrievablyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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retrievesimple
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retrievessimple
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have retrievedperfect
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has retrievedperfect
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am retrievingprogressive
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are retrievingprogressive
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is retrievingprogressive
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have been retrievingperfect progressive
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has been retrievingperfect progressive
Past
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retrievedsimple
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had retrievedperfect
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was retrievingprogressive
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were retrievingprogressive
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had been retrievingperfect progressive
Future
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”; see trover
Explanation
When you retrieve something, you bring it back. Lots of dogs love to retrieve tennis balls, bringing them back to you over and over again. You might retrieve your cell phone from the car, or the toys a baby throws repeatedly on the floor. You can also retrieve a memory from the recesses of your mind, or struggle to remember someone's name and then suddenly retrieve it. A retriever is a dog that's bred to bring things back — in fact, this is the word's earliest use, from the fifteenth century. The Old French root is retreuver, "find again," from re-, "again," and trouver, "to find."
Vocabulary lists containing retrieve
Bud, Not Buddy
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Inside Out & Back Again
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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.
See Examples For:
Top Boy actor Nkechi Simms poses on the front of the Observer, telling of her "quest to retrieve her care files".
From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026
"The Germans are further ahead with this than we are in Denmark. They sometimes retrieve explosives from the wrecks and neutralize them, but doing so is very costly," she notes.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 14, 2026
Lawyers on Wednesday discussed when John Overdeck could retrieve belongings from the couple’s Short Hills, N.J. home, where Laura Overdeck still lives.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
With two outs, Dodgers baserunners were going on contact and all three crossed the plate before Cardinals first baseman Alec Burleson could retrieve the ball and throw it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
“A lot of our history lies beneath the waves. If we do not retrieve our history ourselves, it will be ‘discovered’ and downplayed or be disregarded and continue to dissolve into nothing.”
From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler
Apple needs to “evolve Siri into an agent that understands intent, retrieves context, calls apps and completes workflows,” Bank of America analyst Wamsi Mohan wrote in a note last week.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 6, 2026
OpenAI, meanwhile, says it has shipped an update for Plus and Pro users that improves how memory finds and retrieves details.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 25, 2026
It is also a gesture of trust; the person holding the mic treats the responsibility as sacred and does not move until Cave retrieves the microphone a few bars later.
From Salon ● May 13, 2025
Corby retrieves the bag and starts the car.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 5, 2025
“What are the bad ones, my friend ?” After a moment of quiet he pulls the bottom drawer and retrieves a folded green and white computer printout markered in Eduardo’s hand.
From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee
Asking, “When was my son’s dentist appointment?” pulled the date from a text reminder, while “What’s my passport number?” retrieved the data from Photos.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
Furious, Byfield retrieved his arm and insisted on burying it properly.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 7, 2026
Daniel Vizcarra said a local golfer spotted the girl’s body floating down the Dominguez Channel on Tuesday and it was retrieved by deputies and firefighters.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026
South Asia correspondent Azadeh Moshiri spoke to a local, who is still waiting for his his wife's body to be retrieved as rescue efforts continue.
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026
Someone, though, retrieved one of Anna’s earrings from her body and brought it to Mollie’s mother, who was too ill to venture to the creek.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
Some ship owners may be reluctant to let their vessels return to such a volatile region after finally retrieving them, experts say.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 1, 2026
During the initial searches, the French government had been responsible for investigating the crash and Brazilian forces took charge of retrieving the bodies.
From BBC ● May 21, 2026
The danger arises when people believe that the model is retrieving truth rather than generating likelihoods.
From Salon ● May 12, 2026
These cells are critical for storing and retrieving memories.
From Science Daily ● May 3, 2026
Standing Ben up, she led him to one side of the window, and they both watched Bull shooting and retrieving the ball on the driveway below them.
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
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.
