retrieval
noun
Simple meaning
The cognitive operation of accessing information in memory.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
rihtreevuhlSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ɹɪtˈɹivəl
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
computing
The cognitive operation of accessing information in memory
“My retrieval of people's names is very poor.”
computing
The operation of accessing data, either from memory or from a storage device.
The cognitive process of bringing stored information into consciousness.
The act of retrieving or something retrieved.
The act of regaining or saving something lost (or in danger of becoming lost)
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The cognitive operation of accessing information in memory
Used this way, retrieval is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a computing use: it carries a fixed technical meaning inside software and systems work.
“My retrieval of people's names is very poor.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Technical and specialized
Where it naturally appears
- Technology
- Technical/specialist writing
- Business/professional
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Natural pattern: retrieval of …
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use retrieval
- “My retrieval of people's names is very poor.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
A dog with heavy water-resistant coat that can be trained to retrieve game.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Relational database of the United States National Library of Medicine for the storage and retrieval of bibliographical information concerning the biomedical literature.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.