retrieve

[ri-treev]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR retrieve ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), re·trieved, re·triev·ing.

to recover or regain: to retrieve the stray ball.

to bring back to a former and better state; restore: to retrieve one's fortunes.

to make amends for: to retrieve an error.

to make good; repair: to retrieve a loss.

Hunting. (of hunting dogs) to fetch (killed or wounded game).

to draw back or reel in (a fishing line).

to rescue; save.

(in tennis, squash, handball, etc.) to make an in-bounds return of (a shot requiring running with the hand extended).

Computers. to locate and read (data) from storage, as for display on a monitor.

verb (used without object), re·trieved, re·triev·ing.

Hunting. to retrieve game.

to retrieve a fishing line.

noun

an act of retrieving; recovery.

the possibility of recovery.

Origin of retrieve

1375–1425; late Middle English retreven < Middle French retroev-, retreuv-, tonic stem of retrouver to find again, equivalent to re- re- + trouver to find; see trover

Related formsre·triev·a·ble, adjectivere·triev·a·bil·i·ty, nounnon·re·triev·a·ble, adjectiveun·re·triev·a·ble, adjectiveun·re·trieved, adjective

Synonyms for retrieve

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR retrieve ON THESAURUS.COM

1. See recover.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for retrieve

repair, save, rescue, restore, recapture, recover, salvage, fetch, reclaim, regain, recall, recruit, repossess, redeem, recoup, reacquire

Examples from the Web for retrieve

Contemporary Examples of retrieve

The cop reholsters his gun, and it seems to have ended with no further bloodshed as he moves to retrieve the knife.
Synagogue Slay: When Cops Have to Kill
Michael Daly
December 10, 2014
When gunshots burst out, she ran to retrieve her child from school and returned to her house just as a bomb hit next door.
‘Argo’ in the Congo: The Ghosts of the Stanleyville Hostage Crisis
Nina Strochlic
November 23, 2014
After weeks of training, the first mission set out to retrieve Kent Brantly, an American doctor.
The American Ebola Rescue Plan Hinges on One Company. Meet Phoenix.
Abby Haglage
November 22, 2014
He put it down his shirt and asked her to retrieve it, saying she was “all talk” and “no play” when she refused.
Speed Read: Lena Dunham’s Most Shocking Confessions From ‘Not That Kind of Girl’
Kevin Fallon
September 26, 2014
Rising to retrieve it, I offer her what meager reassurance I can muster.
The Stacks: Grateful Dead I Have Known
Ed McClanahan
August 30, 2014

Historical Examples of retrieve

His hat floated off and he grudged the slight effort to retrieve it.
The Cruise of the Dry Dock
T. S. Stribling
Even then it was not too late for Baseek to retrieve the situation.
White Fang
Jack London
He was in want of a youth whom he could trust, and who would help him to retrieve his affairs.
The Fortune of the Rougons
Emile Zola
Go back to them now and retrieve what you have lost, and see that in the future you are worthier.
Love-at-Arms
Raphael Sabatini
And with that slender capital he intended that night to retrieve his lost fortune.
The White Lie
William Le Queux

British Dictionary definitions for retrieve

retrieve

verb (mainly tr)

to get or fetch back again; recoverhe retrieved his papers from various people's drawers

to bring back to a more satisfactory state; revive

to extricate from trouble or danger; rescue or save

to recover or make newly available (stored information) from a computer system

(also intr) (of a dog) to find and fetch (shot game)

tennis squash badminton to return successfully (a shot difficult to reach)

to recall; remember

noun

the act of retrieving

the chance of being retrieved

Derived Formsretrievable, adjectiveretrievability, nounretrievably, adverb

Word Origin for retrieve

C15: from Old French retrover, from re- + trouver to find, perhaps from Vulgar Latin tropāre (unattested) to compose; see trover, troubadour

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

Word Origin and History for retrieve

early 15c., retreve, originally in reference to dogs finding lost game, from Middle French retruev-, stem of Old French retreuver (Modern French retrouver) "find again, recover, meet again, recognize," from re- "again" (see re-) + trouver "to find," probably from Vulgar Latin *tropare "to compose" (see trove). Altered 16c. to retrive; modern form is from mid-17c.