What does retrieve mean?
Retrieve means to get something back, especially something that has been stored, lost, hidden, or removed from view. It is also used for obtaining information or data from a system and for bringing a memory back into conscious thought. The verb is common in formal and technical writing, such as instructions to retrieve a file, retrieve a record, or retrieve information, but it is equally natural in general conversation. Retrieve can imply deliberate action: a person searches for, accesses, or recovers something. It differs slightly from recover, which can also describe returning to health or regaining a lost condition, whereas retrieve more directly focuses on finding or obtaining something. The word’s Latin ancestry, through repetere, means “to seek again,” which captures its basic idea of bringing back what is absent.
verbTo get back something that has been lost, stored away, or placed somewhere else. It can also mean to obtain information or to recall something to the mind.
- To get back or reclaim something, especially something that has been lost, removed, or stored away.
- To obtain or access information, files, or other data.
- To bring something back to mind or memory.
- To restore a person or thing to a former condition or situation.
"The librarian retrieved the rare manuscript from the archive."
"Users can retrieve their saved documents from the cloud."
"She struggled to retrieve the name of the song she had heard earlier."
Retrieve comes from a Latin root meaning “to seek again,” reflecting the idea of bringing something back into view.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does retrieve come from?
Retrieve came into English in the early 16th century from French retrieve, which was borrowed from Latin repetere, “to seek again” or “fetch back.” The Latin root is also behind English words such as repeat, repetition, and replicate. Over time, retrieve broadened from the idea of seeking or recovering something to include obtaining stored information and recalling something from memory.
Related word forms
How retrieve is actually used
Retrieve is formal and widely used in technical, professional, and everyday contexts. In computing, it commonly refers to accessing or downloading stored data. In descriptions of memory, it often means to recall information.
Easily confused with retrieve
Recover can mean to regain health, money, or possession, while retrieve more specifically means to fetch back or obtain something that has been stored, hidden, or made available.