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
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
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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:
Later, police let them return to their house for half an hour to retrieve their medicine.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
Cardiff Rugby academy players stumbled on Christopher's bathtub while carrying out essential maintenance work on the mountain, and helped rangers retrieve it.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
An alumnus stomped down the road in his blazer to St John’s to retrieve the plate.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026
Verbal fluency refers to the ability to quickly retrieve and produce words.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 18, 2026
Only then do I take a deep breath and retrieve the postcard from under my armpit.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
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
Researchers found that astrocytes in this area play a direct role in how the brain learns what to fear, retrieves those memories, and importantly, learns when those fears are no longer relevant.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 4, 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
The man retrieves a half-eaten orange, tucks it into his armpit, and continues going through the trash bags.
From "They Both Die at the End" by Adam Silvera
Shortly after, while visiting Hank and Marjorie, she retrieved their mail, including the purported water-company letter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 4, 2026
This was what Lincoln, his most powerful reader, retrieved during the Union’s death struggle with secession.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
Only some of the embezzled goods which formed part of the final charges admitted by the ex-SNP chief executive have been retrieved.
From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026
Police say the following was retrieved from the home, totaling about $2.1 million:
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 2026
I retrieved it and flipped it back to him.
From "The Million Dollar Shot" by Dan Gutman
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
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
The agent, which is still in development, is currently helping Zuckerberg get information faster by retrieving answers that he would typically have to go through multiple layers of people to get.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 24, 2026
Elder Evergreen thanks us for retrieving it, though he seems angry still.
From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas
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.
