retrieve

American  

[ri-treev] / rɪˈtriv /

verb (used with object)

• retrieves,
  present (3rd person singular)
• retrieved,
  past participle,  past
• retrieving
  present participle

1. to recover or regain.

   to retrieve the stray ball.

2. to bring back to a former and better state; restore.

   to retrieve one's fortunes.

3. to make amends for.

   to retrieve an error.

4. to make good; repair.

   to retrieve a loss.

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

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

7. to rescue; save.

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

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

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verb (used without object)

• retrieves,
  present (3rd person singular)
• retrieved,
  past participle,  past
• retrieving
  present participle

1. Hunting. to retrieve game.

2. to retrieve a fishing line.

noun

1. an act of retrieving; recovery.

2. the possibility of recovery.

retrieve British  

/ rɪˈtriːv /

verb

1. to get or fetch back again; recover

   he retrieved his papers from various people's drawers

2. to bring back to a more satisfactory state; revive

3. to extricate from trouble or danger; rescue or save

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

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

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

7. to recall; remember

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noun

1. the act of retrieving

2. the chance of being retrieved

Synonym Usage

See recover.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• retrievability
  noun
• nonretrievable
  adjective
• retrievable
  adjective
• unretrievable
  adjective
• unretrieved
  adjective
• retrievably
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• retrieving
  present
• retrieved
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• retrieve
  simple
• retrieves
  simple
• have retrieved
  perfect
• has retrieved
  perfect
• am retrieving
  progressive
• are retrieving
  progressive
• is retrieving
  progressive
• have been retrieving
  perfect progressive
• has been retrieving
  perfect progressive

Past

• retrieved
  simple
• had retrieved
  perfect
• was retrieving
  progressive
• were retrieving
  progressive
• had been retrieving
  perfect progressive

Future

• will retrieve
  simple
• will have retrieved
  perfect
• will be retrieving
  progressive
• will have been retrieving
  perfect progressive

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."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

retrieve retrieves retrieved retrieving

An agentic Siri will need to go beyond chatbot capabilities to retrieve personalized context on devices and execute multistep workflows.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026

He immediately called the tech company’s support staff, who said Canopy could retrieve its files.

From Slate ● Aug. 18, 2026

They use mashed-together databases to sense patterns and retrieve verbiage.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

He rushed back from a farmhouse holiday with friends, scrambling to retrieve the notes and textbooks he had already given to younger students in case he had to sit the exam again.

From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2026

If they let in the Boy Scouts, then everyone else who owned property and equipment around the lake wanted to retrieve their belongings, too.

From "Mountain of Fire" by Rebecca E. F. Barone

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 have developed a new holographic data storage method that records and retrieves information in three dimensions by combining three key properties of light -- amplitude, phase and polarization.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 29, 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

“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

“There you go,” he said as he retrieved a prize from the chute.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

The unit said initially that 77 people were rescued and 15 bodies retrieved.

From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026

Of the 10 percent who retrieved their frozen eggs, 34 percent became pregnant, and 29 percent had a live birth.

From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026

Police say the following was retrieved from the home, totaling about $2.1 million:

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 2026

Then he knelt, retrieved mittens from my bag, and gently slid them over my hands, carefully adjusting the cuffs under my sweater sleeves.

From "Bye Forever, I Guess" by Jodi Meadows

"Arthur is one of the best at retrieving balls and staying in the points," said Dimitrov's coach Jamie Delgado.

From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026

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

“Now the ball goes in,” Amaya said, retrieving it herself and popping it into the muzzle.

From "Dactyl Hill Squad" by Daniel José Older

Related Words

• bring back
• fetch
• recapture
• reclaim
• recover
• repair
• rescue
• restore
• salvage
• save