retrieved; retrieving
1
: to locate and bring in (killed or wounded game)
2
: to call to mind again
3
: to get back again : regain
4
6
: to remedy the evil consequences of : correct
7
: to get and bring back
especially
: to recover from storage
retrieve information
: to bring in game
a dog that retrieves well
also
: to bring back an object thrown by a person
1
2
: the successful return of a ball that is difficult to reach or control (as in tennis)
Examples of retrieve in a Sentence
Verb
Many archaeological relics were retrieved from the site.
Police retrieved his stolen car.
You can quickly retrieve data.
The files were retrieved from the computer.
He was able to retrieve the document.
The dog is learning how to retrieve.
The dog has been trained to retrieve birds.
Recent Examples on the Web
Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 28 Oct. 2025
According to Netanyahu’s office, the body returned was that of Ofir Tzarfati—whose remains had already been recovered in November 2023 by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), with additional remains retrieved in March 2024.
—Callum Sutherland, Time, 28 Oct. 2025
Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 24 Oct. 2025
Best Overall Commerce writer Julia Harrison says that she has been known to eat, sleep, cook, snack, retrieve mail, do laundry, and entertain house guests in this full-length beauty.
—Audrey Lee, Architectural Digest, 22 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for retrieve
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Verb
Across the three hearings, several witnesses – including journalists and high-ranking military members – have testified about shadowy military programs to retrieve and study not only interstellar alien craft, but the extraterrestrial pilots themselves.
—Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 28 Oct. 2025
According to Netanyahu’s office, the body returned was that of Ofir Tzarfati—whose remains had already been recovered in November 2023 by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), with additional remains retrieved in March 2024.
—Callum Sutherland, Time, 28 Oct. 2025
Noun
Her aim isn’t to dramatize a specific geopolitical conflict so much as retrieve from history a memory that Americans have spent decades repressing: the quiet, ongoing risk of nuclear collapse.
—Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 24 Oct. 2025
Best Overall Commerce writer Julia Harrison says that she has been known to eat, sleep, cook, snack, retrieve mail, do laundry, and entertain house guests in this full-length beauty.
—Audrey Lee, Architectural Digest, 22 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for retrieve
Cite this Entry
“Retrieve.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/retrieve. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
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