Meaning & use
retrieve
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Meanings
verbtransitive
To go and get something back from the place where it was left, dropped or kept.
Grammar: Takes an object, often with from: retrieve a bag from the car.
Patterns
- retrieve something from somewhere
He climbed down to retrieve his hat from the ledge.
Please retrieve your luggage from the carousel.
The diver retrieved the key from the lake bed.
verbtransitivecomputing
To find and bring up stored information or files from a computer, database or memory.
Grammar: Takes an object: retrieve the data.
Patterns
- retrieve something from something
The system can retrieve any record in seconds.
I could not retrieve the deleted email.
She tried to retrieve the name from her memory.
verbtransitiveformal
To improve or rescue a bad situation, or to win back something that was lost.
Grammar: Takes an object such as the situation or a point: retrieve the match.
Patterns
- retrieve a situation
A late goal helped retrieve the situation for the home side.
He tried to retrieve his reputation after the scandal.
A strong second half did little to retrieve the match.
Word forms
| third person singular | retrieves |
|---|---|
| past tense | retrieved |
| past participle | retrieved |
| -ing form | retrieving |
Common combinations
- retrieve data
- The software can retrieve data from damaged drives.
- retrieve information
- Librarians help people retrieve information quickly.
- retrieve a file
- He used a tool to retrieve the lost file.
- retrieve luggage
- We waited to retrieve our luggage.
- retrieve the ball
- The dog ran to retrieve the ball.
- easily retrieved
- The documents are easily retrieved from the archive.
Synonyms and how they differ
- fetch
- Fetch means to go and bring something back and is more casual, whereas retrieve implies getting back something that was lost or stored.
- recover
- Recover suggests getting back something lost or damaged, while retrieve stresses the act of going to get it.
- regain
- Regain is used for abstract things like control or strength, not for physical objects.
- collect
- Collect means to pick something up that is ready, and does not imply it was lost.
Opposites
Word family
- retrieval noun
- the act of getting something back
- retriever noun
- a dog trained to bring back game
- retrievable adjective
- able to be got back
- irretrievable adjective
- impossible to get back or repair
Commonly confused: retrieve or receive?
retrieve vs receive
Receive means to be given something, whereas retrieve means to go and get back something that was yours.
Practice
The diver managed to ___ the lost phone from the bottom of the lake.
Choose one answer.
Retrieve means to get back a thing that was lost. Receive means to be given something, a tempting wrong choice.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “retrieve”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.