Meaning
“Retrieve” means to get something back, to recover, or to bring something back to its original place or state. It can refer to both physical objects and abstract things like data or memories.
Grammar and Usage
- Part of speech: Verb
- Verb forms: retrieve – retrieved – retrieved – retrieving
- Transitivity: Transitive (requires an object)
Typical patterns:
- retrieve something
- retrieve something from somewhere
- retrieve data/information/files
Common Phrases
- retrieve data
- retrieve information
- retrieve a file
- retrieve a lost item
- retrieve a situation (make it better again)
Collocations
- verb + retrieve: try to retrieve, manage to retrieve, help to retrieve
- noun + retrieve: data retrieval, information retrieval, memory retrieval
Examples
- She managed to retrieve her wallet from the lost and found office.
- The dog was trained to retrieve the ball from the water.
- The technician retrieved the deleted files from the backup system.
- He tried to retrieve his reputation after the scandal.
- The police retrieved the stolen artwork from the thieves.
- I couldn’t retrieve the email because the server was down.
- Memory exercises can help retrieve old memories more easily.
- The company is working to retrieve customer trust after the data breach.
Synonyms or Related
- recover
- regain
- reclaim
- fetch
- get back
Antonym
- lose
- misplace
- forfeit