retrieve

[ ri-treev ]

/ rɪˈtriv /

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.

Nearby words

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

SYNONYMS FOR retrieve

1. See recover.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR retrieve ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

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

un·re·trieved, adjective

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

Examples from the Web for 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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST

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|DAILY BEAST
It was the best effort they could make to retrieve the day, a weak ending to so magnificent a scheme.
Harvard Stories|Waldron Kintzing Post
Or was Mr. Foger merely looking for a new venture whereby to retrieve his lost fortune.
Tom Swift in the City of Gold, or, Marvelous Adventures Underground|Victor Appleton
The last was born in the island where his father had sought to retrieve his fortune after the failure of Law's Mississippi scheme.
The Journal of Negro History, Volume 7, 1922|Various
It was quite likely that she had secreted it somewhere in the grounds of the mansion to retrieve it without risk later on.
Anthony Trent, Master Criminal|Wyndham Martyn
But despair could not bring relief, and activity and courage only could retrieve the time that had been lost.
The Frontiersmen|Gustave Aimard

British Dictionary definitions for retrieve

retrieve

/ (rɪˈtriːv) /

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

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.

retrieve

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

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

noun

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Nearby words

Origin of retrieve

Examples from the Web for retrieve

retrieve

verb (mainly tr)

noun

Word Origin for retrieve

retrieve