retrieve
rih-TREEV
/rɪˈtriːv/
To locate, access, and bring back stored data from a database, cloud server, or physical storage medium.
Retrieve implies that the data is safe and organized, and you are simply fetching it to use it. It is a routine, successful action.
The story behind the word. Retrieve comes from the Old French verb retrouver, meaning 'to find again'. It was originally a hunting term used to describe dogs finding and bringing back wild game. In the mid-20th century, computer scientists adopted it to describe software hunting down and bringing back specific packets of data.
Word relationships
- fetch: Fetch is a simpler, more informal word, whereas retrieve is the preferred technical term for database and system operations.
- extract: Extract implies pulling something out with effort or separating a specific part from a larger whole, while retrieve simply means bringing the whole item back.
- deposit: To place or store data in a specific location, which is the opposite of fetching it out.
Commonly confused with
- restore: Retrieve means to fetch undamaged data from its normal storage, whereas restore means to reconstruct data that was lost or corrupted.
Word family
- retrieval (noun): The act of getting something back.
- retriever (noun): A breed of dog trained to find and bring back game.
Collocations
- retrieve data
- retrieve files
- retrieve information
- easily retrieve
Example sentences
- "It took only a few seconds to retrieve the historical sales report from the digital archive." Searching for a file in a cloud account.
- "The search engine is designed to retrieve relevant documents based on user keywords." An automated database query.
Memory hook
Think of a Golden Retriever dog fetching a ball. In the digital world, your database search engine is the retriever fetching your files. Retrieve is like a digital dog fetching your files.
When not to use
Do not use retrieve when you are rebuilding a broken system or recovering lost data after a disaster (use restore or recover instead).
Fun facts
- The term 'information retrieval' was coined in 1950 by computer scientist Calvin Mooers, long before the internet existed, to describe how humans would eventually search digital libraries.
Related words
Explore more words
Also appears in
Take your vocabulary further with LangBlitz
Our English vocabulary app: FSRS spaced repetition, 5,000+ curated words across 119 topic groups, CEFR A1 to C2. Explore your mastery with the beautiful Vocabulary World feature.