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retrieve

verb · noun

Simple meaning

Go for and bring back.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

rihtreev

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ɹɪtˈɹiv

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.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

  1. Go for and bring back

    “Retrieve the car from the parking garage.”

  2. Get or find back; recover the use of

  3. transitive

    To regain or get back something.

  4. transitive

    To remember or recall something.

  5. transitive

    To remedy or rectify something.

  6. transitive

    To fetch or carry back something, especially (computing) a file or data record.

noun

  1. A retrieval.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency
Moderately Common
Typical Use
Varies by meaning

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: To regain or get back something.

Used this way, retrieve is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use retrieve

  • “Retrieve the car from the parking garage.”verb

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

retrieve informationretrieve dataeasily retrieve

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Similar Words, What’s the Difference?

Close in meaning, but not always interchangeable.

  • recall

    To call back, bring back, or summon (someone) to a specific place, station, etc.

  • call back

    To request someone's return.

  • recover

    Get or find back; recover the use of.

  • remind

    To cause one to experience a memory (of someone or something).

Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

  • retrievernounInflected form

    A dog with heavy water-resistant coat that can be trained to retrieve game.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • retrievalnounDerived noun

    The operation of accessing information from the computer's memory.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • flat-coated retrievernounCompound term

    An English breed having a shiny black or liver-colored coat.

  • labrador retrievernounCompound term

    Breed originally from Labrador having a short black or golden-brown coat.

  • golden retrievernounCompound term

    An English breed having a long silky golden coat.

  • curly-coated retrievernounCompound term

    An English breed having a tightly curled black or liver-colored coat.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

verb

Sense: go for and bring back

regain

noun

Sense: retrieval

recall

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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.