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 retrieving

There was no sign of Ferrier, and Hogue gave up the idea of retrieving her as well.
‘I Saved My Friend From Bill Cosby’|Lloyd Grove|December 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Many in the audience nodded in approval, and then Bergdahl talked about the work of retrieving his son.
Bergdahl’s Dad: Drone Killed Captor’s Kid|Michael Ames|June 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Retrieving him at least reminds soldiers that we will never abandon them to their fates, right or wrong.
We Lost Soldiers in the Hunt for Bergdahl, a Guy Who Walked Off in the Dead of Night|Nathan Bradley Bethea|June 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The hacker code that pulled and published millions was retrieving numbers at a rate of 1,500 each minute.
Meet Graham Smith, SnapChat’s 16-Year-Old Nemesis|Nina Strochlic|January 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST

She said in documents that he had kicked her out of the home then prevented her at gunpoint from retrieving her young child.
The Militiaman Next Door|Mary M. Chapman|April 2, 2010|DAILY BEAST
“They did not take much pains about retrieving their game,” said the doctor.
The Peril Finders|George Manville Fenn
Miss Dwight went up to the dressing-room with her, and Clavering, retrieving hat and top-coat, waited for her at the front door.
Black Oxen|Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton
For the mean and the poor there was no means of retrieving their poverty and degradation.
Public Lands and Agrarian Laws of the Roman Republic|Andrew Stephenson
"You shouldn't wear such things until it gets cold," she said, after retrieving the cap and handing it to him.
The Wolf Hunters|James Oliver Curwood
Dogs that are by nature quick rangers do not take instinctively to retrieving.
Dog Breaking|William Nelson Hutchinson

British Dictionary definitions for retrieving

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 retrieving

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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Origin of retrieve

Examples from the Web for retrieving

retrieve

verb (mainly tr)

noun

Word Origin for retrieve

retrieve