noun
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one of a breed of large gun dogs that can be trained to retrieve game See golden retriever Labrador retriever Chesapeake Bay retriever curly-coated retriever flat-coated retriever
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any dog used to retrieve shot game
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a person or thing that retrieves
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of retriever
Compare meaning
How does retriever compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
If your dog brings back anything you throw for her, she's a retriever. Many retrievers are bred to work alongside hunters, fetching game birds. Even if your pup looks more like a mop than a Labrador retriever, you can still describe him as a retriever if he's intent on recovering every tennis ball you hurl across your yard. A retriever is a person or animal that retrieves things, or brings them back. So, strictly speaking, you're a retriever too, if you grab the runaway balls during your friends' tennis match! Retriever derives from the French verb trouver, "to find."
Vocabulary lists containing retriever
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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:
The first litter was born in 1868 to a Tweed water spaniel, a breed now extinct, and yellow wavy-coated retriever.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
Thirteen of the 14 dogs seized by the Newport Beach Beach Animal Control were puppies, including two 6-week-old golden retriever puppies that were in critical condition because of untreated parasites.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
Neighbor Karen Estes watched over a fence with her Golden retriever, Honey.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
Wearing her blue harness, this restless brown Labrador retriever ventures into the debris of buildings that collapsed in the earthquakes of June 24.
From Barron's ● Jul. 5, 2026
She wouldn’t have minded if it was a romance or one of those books about a really awesome golden retriever that ends up dying at the end, but she minded that he wouldn't tell her.
From "Bone Gap" by Laura Ruby
Golden retrievers were bred by aristocrat Sir Dudley Marjoribanks, who wanted a gun dog suited to Scottish Highland terrain.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
To investigate the biological roots of canine temperament, scientists examined the DNA of 1,300 golden retrievers and compared it with each dog's behavioral profile.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 7, 2026
But since 2022 Frenchies have been top dog, with Labs and golden retrievers settling for silver and bronze.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 28, 2025
Not done waxing poetic about the eyes on the veritable Redford of retrievers, Leonberg also pointed out another benefit of his dog’s particular coloration.
From Salon ● Oct. 3, 2025
I mean, he’s cute, so I’ll let it slide, but the dogs on my pants are clearly golden retrievers.
From "Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda" by Becky Albertalli
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.
