retrieve
Americanverb (used with object)
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retrieves,
present (3rd person singular)
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retrieved,
past participle, past
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retrieving
present participle
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to recover or regain.
to retrieve the stray ball.
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to bring back to a former and better state; restore.
to retrieve one's fortunes.
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to make amends for.
to retrieve an error.
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to make good; repair.
to retrieve a loss.
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Hunting. (of hunting dogs) to fetch (killed or wounded game).
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to draw back or reel in (a fishing line).
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to rescue; save.
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(in tennis, squash, handball, etc.) to make an in-bounds return of (a shot requiring running with the hand extended).
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Computers. to locate and read (data) from storage, as for display on a monitor.
verb (used without object)
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retrieves,
present (3rd person singular)
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retrieved,
past participle, past
-
retrieving
present participle
-
Hunting. to retrieve game.
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to retrieve a fishing line.
noun
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an act of retrieving; recovery.
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the possibility of recovery.
verb
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to get or fetch back again; recover
he retrieved his papers from various people's drawers
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to bring back to a more satisfactory state; revive
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to extricate from trouble or danger; rescue or save
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to recover or make newly available (stored information) from a computer system
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(also intr) (of a dog) to find and fetch (shot game)
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tennis squash badminton to return successfully (a shot difficult to reach)
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to recall; remember
noun
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the act of retrieving
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the chance of being retrieved
Synonym Usage
See recover.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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retrievabilitynoun
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nonretrievableadjective
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retrievableadjective
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unretrievableadjective
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unretrievedadjective
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retrievablyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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retrievesimple
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retrievessimple
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have retrievedperfect
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has retrievedperfect
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am retrievingprogressive
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are retrievingprogressive
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is retrievingprogressive
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have been retrievingperfect progressive
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has been retrievingperfect progressive
Past
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retrievedsimple
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had retrievedperfect
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was retrievingprogressive
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were retrievingprogressive
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had been retrievingperfect progressive
Future
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."
Vocabulary lists containing retrieve
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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 repair work calls for excavation to retrieve a soil sample, as well as debris removal and sandbags to protect the property from strong waves and coastal erosion.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2026
When the Night Watch teams are able to retrieve a downed target, they often scour the wreckage to figure out new ways to jam them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
When the website's editors noticed and started deleting pages, the agents shared code designed to retrieve them.
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026
"My friend and neighbours live in this building. I came to help my friend retrieve some clothes and mattresses. He currently has no shelter or home," Mohannad al-Mashharawi told AFP.
From Barron's ● Sep. 16, 2026
He stooped to retrieve a fancy carved walking stick that was propped against one of the balloon’s anchoring stakes.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
I asked Arora how Deep Cogito’s approach differs from other techniques such as retrieval-augmented generation, which retrieves relevant proprietary data and business context and provides it to an AI model at inference time.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
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
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
Corby retrieves the bag and starts the car.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 5, 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
The Lotus of Innes Ireland is retrieved from bushes after going off the circuit in 1961 at Watkins Glen.
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026
That is, it’s low if you go through the full process of having your eggs retrieved at 44, fertilized, and then an embryo implanted.
From Slate ● Oct. 16, 2026
Nepal has buried more than 1,200 bodies, carefully numbering and tagging them so they can be retrieved if a DNA match is found.
From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026
Indeed, I had blocked out most memories of that 2004 Fox reality train wreck until Carr’s documentary reached into my mind’s cobwebby attic and retrieved its cabinet of horrors.
From Salon ● Oct. 1, 2026
He remembered the first missing page he’d retrieved in its glass case.
From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova
That area plays a key role in forming and retrieving what scientists call episodic memories: memories of specific events and experiences in a person's life.
From BBC ● Aug. 31, 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
“So it looks as if the task of retrieving it will be up to you, my small friends.”
From "When the Sea Turned to Silver" by Grace Lin
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
