RETRIEVE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does retrieve mean? 

• RETRIEVE (verb)
  The verb RETRIEVE has 4 senses:

1. get or find back; recover the use of

2. go for and bring back

3. run after, pick up, and bring to the master

4. recall knowledge from memory; have a recollection

  Familiarity information: RETRIEVE used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• RETRIEVE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they retrieve    ... he / she / it retrieves   
Past simple: retrieved   
Past participle: retrieved   
-ing form: retrieving   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Get or find back; recover the use of

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Synonyms:

find; recover; regain; retrieve

Context example:

She found her voice and replied quickly

Hypernyms (to "retrieve" is one way to...):

acquire; get (come into the possession of something concrete or abstract)

Verb group:

find; regain (come upon after searching; find the location of something that was missed or lost)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "retrieve"):

access (obtain or retrieve from a storage device; as of information on a computer)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s something from somebody

Derivation:

retrieval (the act of regaining or saving something lost (or in danger of becoming lost))

Sense 2

Meaning:

Go for and bring back

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Context example:

retrieve the car from the parking garage

Hypernyms (to "retrieve" is one way to...):

bring; convey; fetch; get (go or come after and bring or take back)

Verb group:

retrieve (run after, pick up, and bring to the master)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 3

Meaning:

Run after, pick up, and bring to the master

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Context example:

train the dog to retrieve

Hypernyms (to "retrieve" is one way to...):

bring; convey; fetch; get (go or come after and bring or take back)

Verb group:

retrieve (go for and bring back)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Something ----s something

Derivation:

retriever (a dog with heavy water-resistant coat that can be trained to retrieve game)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Recall knowledge from memory; have a recollection

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Synonyms:

call back; call up; recall; recollect; remember; retrieve; think

Context example:

call up memories

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "retrieve"):

know (perceive as familiar)

recognise; recognize (perceive to be the same)

brush up; refresh; review (refresh one's memory)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE
Somebody ----s VERB-ing

Sentence example:

They won't retrieve the story

Derivation:

retrieval (the cognitive operation of accessing information in memory)

 Context examples 

Even then it was not too late for Baseek to retrieve the situation.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

The tasks test the animals’ working memory – holding information in mind and retrieving it to guide behavior – an ability often impaired in schizophrenia.

(Schizophrenia risk gene linked to cognitive deficits in mice, National Institutes of Health)

A person who retrieves and summarizes information.

(Abstractor, NCI Thesaurus)

For a minute or two we were all on our knees retrieving stray cigarettes from impossible places.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Perhaps it had been the boat's fault, but she made no effort to retrieve it.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

The cancer Models Database (caMOD) allows researchers to retrieve and submit animal models of cancer. caMOD currently supports the Mouse Models of Human Cancer Consortium (MMHCC).

(Cancer Models Database, NCI Thesaurus)

It enables other services to publish, retrieve, discover, remove, and version metadata definitions.

(caGrid Global Model Exchange, NCI Thesaurus)

The sciences concerned with gathering and manipulating and storing and retrieving and classifying recorded information.

(Information Sciences, NCI Thesaurus)

Memory dysfunction refers to the inability to store and retrieve information.

(Memory Dysfunction, NCI Thesaurus)

As people grow older, it may take longer to retrieve those files.

(Memory, NIH: National Institute on Aging)