retrievere‧trieve /rɪˈtriːv/ ●○○ verb [transitive] 
Word Origin Examples
She bent down to retrieve her earring.retrieve something from something It took four days to retrieve all the bodies from the crash.2technical to get back information that has been stored in the memory of a computer: The new version of the software automatically retrieves digital information.3retrieve a situation British English to make a situation satisfactory again after there has been a serious mistake or problem: The general made one last desperate effort to retrieve the situation.—retrievable adjective
Word OriginWORD ORIGINretrieve
Verb TableOrigin:
1400-1500 Old French retrover ‘to find again’, from trover ‘to find’VERB TABLE
retrieve
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | retrieve |
| he, she, it | retrieves | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | retrieved |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have retrieved |
| he, she, it | has retrieved | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had retrieved |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will retrieve |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have retrieved |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am retrieving |
| he, she, it | is retrieving | |
| you, we, they | are retrieving | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was retrieving |
| you, we, they | were retrieving | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been retrieving |
| he, she, it | has been retrieving | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been retrieving |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be retrieving |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been retrieving |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
Thesaurus- I had left my bag at the railroad station and went back to retrieve it.
- If you want to retrieve a file from the computer press FIND and then enter the name of the file you want.
- Right now we're concentrating on retrieving the spacecraft.
- She bent down and retrieved the map from under the car seat.
- Can we retrieve our culture from the product pushers?
- She'd agreed to meet Matthew half way, and retrieve the children.
- When you learn how to search out and retrieve information you are in possession of a golden key to doing successful public relations.
- With a peculiar shiver of fear, he stooped to retrieve his spear.
- With some newsreaders, you might need to retrieve the message body and decode in two stages.
- Zhong quickly retrieved a fist-sized chunk and rushed it to a frozen-food warehouse for safekeeping.
Longman Language Activatorto get back something that you had before► get something back
Collocations to get back something that you had before, especially something that belongs to you: · Susanna has my lecture notes - I won't be able to get them back until Monday.get sth back from: · I need to get the tape recorder back from her.
► regain to get back an ability or quality that you have lost, for example your authority or confidence: regain power/control: · Republicans hope to regain control of the House of Representatives.· The army is struggling to regain control over the southern part of the country.regain your confidence/faith/trust etc: · I don't know if I can ever regain my faith in him after what he's done.regain your strength (=become healthy and strong again): · Bill spent two weeks in the hospital regaining his strength after the operation.
► recover to get back something such as an ability that you have lost, or something that has been stolen from you: · The bank is planning to sue the company in order to try and recover it's money.· It took the rest of the winter for her to recover her health.
► retrieve formal to get back something after you have put it somewhere: · I had left my bag at the railroad station and went back to retrieve it.retrieve something from: · She bent down and retrieved the map from under the car seat.· If you want to retrieve a file from the computer, press FIND and then enter the name of the file you want.
► recoup to get back money or profits that you have spent or lost: recoup your losses: · She put $50 on the next race in an attempt to recoup her losses.recoup something from somebody: · The dentist gives treatment for free and then recoups the cost from the government.
► reclaim to get back something that belongs to you that someone else has taken or that you have let them have: · You can reclaim tax if you find you have paid too much.· A British woman is waiting to hear how she can reclaim a family estate inside the former Soviet Union.reclaim something from: · China reclaimed Hong Kong from Britain in 1997.
► win back to succeed in getting someone or something back by trying hard: win back somebody/something: · The airlines are trying to win back passengers by offering special low fares at certain times.· Debra sued the company and won back her job and $144,000 in damages.win somebody/something back: · Jack could see no way of winning his wife back.
WORD SETS► Computersaccess, verbaccess point, nounaccess time, nounaccounting system, accumulator, nounadd-on, nounADSL, nounaffective computing, nounAI, nounALGOL, nounalias, nounANSI, anti-spam, adjectiveanti-virus, adjectiveanti-virus software, nounAPL, nounapp, nounApple, Apple Macintosh, applet, nounapplication, nounapplication software, nounarcade game, nounarchitecture, nounarchive, nounarchive, verbarray, nounartificial intelligence, nounASCII, nounASIC, nounASP, nounassembly language, nounasynchronous, adjectiveAT&T, attachment, nounaudit trail, nounautomate, verbautomated, adjectiveautomation, nounavatar, nounB2B exchange, nounB2C, adjectiveB2E, adjectiveBabbage, Charles, backslash, nounbackspace, nounbackup, nounback-up copy, bandwidth, nounbar code, nounBASIC, nounbatch, nounbatch processing, nounbaud rate, nounBerners-Lee, Tim, bespoke, adjectivebeta test, nounBig Blue, bioinformatics, nounbiometric, adjectivebit, nounbitmap, nounBlackBerry, nounbloatware, nounblog, nounBluetooth, nounBMP, nounbond certificate, book entry, bookmark, nounbookmark, verbbook of final entry, nounbook of first entry, nounBoolean, adjectiveboot, verbbootable, adjectivebootstrapping, nounbot, nounbotnet, nounbps, brain dump, nounbroadband, nounbrown goods, nounbrowse, verbbrowser, nounbubble jet printer, nounbuddy list, nounbuffer, nounbuffer, verbbug, nounbulletin board, nounbundle, nounbundle, verbburn, verbbus, nounbusiness continuity services, nounbusiness continuity services, button, nounbyte, nounCabinet Office Briefing Rooms, cable modem, nouncache, nouncache, verbCAD, nounCAD/CAM, nounCAL, nounCalifornia, nounCALL, nounCAM, nounCambridge, Capita, caps lock, nouncapture, verbcapture, nouncard, nouncathode ray tube, nounCAT scan, nounCBT, nounCD-R, nounCD-ROM, nounCD-ROM drive, CDRW, nounCD-RW, nouncentral processing unit, nouncentral processor, nounCGI, nounCHAPS, character, nounchat room, nouncheat, nouncheckbox, nounchip, nounchip card, CIM, CIO, clerical assistant, click, verbclickable, adjectiveclient, nounclient machine, client-server, adjectiveclient/server architecture, clip art, nounclipboard, nouncloaking, nounclock cycle, nounclock speed, nounclone, nouncluster, nounCOBOL, nouncode, nouncoder, nouncom, Comdex, nouncommand, nouncomm port, comms, nouncompact disc, nounCompaq, compatibility, nouncompatible, adjectivecompatible, nouncompile, verbcompiler, nouncompress, verbcomputer, nouncomputer (industry) analyst, computer-aided, adjectivecomputer-aided design, nouncomputer-aided manufacture, computer-aided manufacturing, nouncomputer-assisted, adjectivecomputerate, adjectivecomputer-based training, computer-generated, adjectivecomputer-integrated manufacture, computerize, verbcomputer-literate, adjectivecomputer modelling, nouncomputer science, nouncomputer system, computer virus, nouncomputing, nounconcordance, nounconfiguration, nounconfigure, verbconnect, verbconnectivity, nounconsole, nouncontrol, nouncontrol key, nouncookie, nouncoordinate, nounCorel, corrupt, verbcounter, nouncourseware, nounCPU, nouncrack, verbcrack, nouncracker, nouncrash, verbcrash, nounCroft, Lara, cross-platform, adjectivecross-posting, nounCtrl, nouncursor, nouncut, verbcutover, nouncyber-, prefixcybercrime, nouncybernetics, nouncyberpunk, nouncybersickness, nouncyberspace, nouncyberterrorist, nouncyberwidow, noundata, noundata bank, noundatabase, noundatabase management, database management system, data capture, noundata centre, data dictionary, noundata encryption standard, noundata file, data interchange format file, data mining, noundata processing, noundata protection, Data Protection Act, the, Dateline, daytrader, nounday trading, nounDBMS, debug, verbdecision support system, decode, verbdecompress, verbdecrypt, verbdefault, noundefragment, verbDel, noundelete, verbdeletion, noundeliverable, noundematerialize, verbdemo, verbdemonstration version, denial of service attack, noundeselect, verbdesktop, noundesktop computer, noundesktop publishing, noundestination site, dialogue box, noundial-up, adjectivedigerati, noundigicam, noundigital nervous system, digital rights management, digital wallet, nounDilbert, direct access, noundirectory, noundisaster recovery, noundisc, noundisinfect, verbdisk, noundisk drive, noundiskette, noundisk operating system, display, noundisplay, verbdistributed processing, Dixons, dock, noundock, verbdocking station, noundocument, noundocument sharing, noundongle, nounDOS, noundot-matrix printer, noundouble click, verbdouble-click, verbdouble density, adjectivedown, adverbdownload, verbdownload, noundownloadable, adjectivedowntime, noundown time, downwardly compatible, adjectiveDP, noundrag, verbdrive, noun-driven, suffixdriver, noundropdown, noundrop down, noundrop-down menu, nounDTP, noundumb terminal, dump, verbdump, nounDVD, nounDVD-ROM, nounEasdaq, noune-book, noune-business, nounECN, noune-commerce, nouneditor, nounedutainment, noune-fatigue, nounE-FIT, nounEFTPOS, nounelectronic, adjectiveelectronic bill of lading, electronic cottage, nounelectronic data interchange, nounelectronic funds transfer, nounelectronic invoice, electronic mail, nounelectronic media, electronic publishing, nounelectronics, nounelectrosmog, nounEllison, Larry, email, nounemail account, embed, verbencrypt, verbend-to-end, adjectiveenter, verbenterprise application integration, nounentry, nounEPROM, noune-publishing, nounequipment leasing, erase, verbErnie, error, nounerror message, nounescape key, Ethernet, noune-ticket, nounE-ticket, nounexecutable, nounexecute, verbexecution, nounexit, verbexpansion card, nounexpansion slot, nounexpert system, nounexport, verbextension, nounextranet, nouneye scan, nounF2F, adjectivefabricator, nounfactory preset, nounfatware, nounfeed, verbfeed, nounfield, nounfifth generation computer, file, nounfile manager, nounfilename, nounfile sharing, nounfile transfer, filing system, filter, nounfirewall, nounfirmware, nounfirst generation, nounfirst in, first out, nounfirst-person shooter, nounfive nines, nounfixed wireless, nounflash, verbflash, nounflash drive, nounflash memory, nounflatscreen, adjectiveflat screen, flip chip, nounfloor broker, floppy disk, nounfly-by-wire, nounfolder, nounfont, nounfooter, nounfootprint, nounforklift upgrade, nounformat, verbFortran, nounforum, noun404, adjectivefreeware, nounftp, nounfunction, nounfunctionality, nounfunction key, nounfungible, adjectivefuzzy logic, nounGame Boy, gameplay, noungamer, noungaming, noungarbage in, garbage out, Gates, Bill, gateway, nounghost, nounGIF, noungigabit, noungigabyte, nounGIGO, GIS, nounGlitter, Gary, global, adjectiveGLOBEX, nounGMS, nounGoogle, gopher, noungraphical, adjectivegraphical user interface, noungraphics, noungraphics card, noungraphic software, grid computing, noungroupware, nounGUI, nounhack, verbhack, nounhacker, nounhacktivist, nounhandshake, nounhard copy, nounhard disk, nounhard drive, nounhardware, nounhard-wired, adjectiveHawk, Tony, Hawking, Stephen, head, nounheader, nounhelp, nounhelp desk, nounhelp menu, help screen, nounHewlett Packard, hexadecimal, adjectivehigh-definition, adjectivehigh-level, adjectivehigh-level language, highlight, verbhome computer, home office, nounhome shopping, hookup, nounhook-up, nounhost computer, hot key, nounhot link, nounhot spot, nounHTML, nounhttp, hyperlink, nounhypertext, nounIBM, icon, nounICT, nounidentifier, nouniMac, nounimport, verbinbox, nounincremental backup, nounincubator space, industrial design, infect, verbinfected, adjectiveinformation exchange, information retrieval, nouninformation system, information technology, nouninfowar, nouninitialize, verbinkjet printer, nouninput, nouninput, verbinput/output, adjectiveinstall, verbinstaller, nounInstinet, Intel, intelligent terminal, interactive, adjectiveinteractive whiteboard, nouninterface, nouninterface, verbInternational Securities Exchange, nounInternet cafe, nounInternet Service Provider, interpreter, nounintranet, nouninvoke, verbIP address, nouniPod, nouniris scan, nounISDN, nounISP, nounIT, nouniterate, verbiTunes, iTV, nounJava, nounjob, nounjob bank, Jobs, Steve, joystick, nounJPEG, nounK, KB, keno, nounkey, nounkeyboard, nounkeyboard, verbkeyboarder, nounkeypad, nounkeystroke, nounkeyword, nounkilobyte, nounkit, nounkludge, nounknowledge base, Kraftwerk, LAN, nounlanguage, nounlaptop, nounlaser disk, nounlaser printer, nounlaunch, verbLCD, nounlight industry, nounlight pen, nounline printer, nounlink, verbLinux, nounLISP, nounlisting paper, listserv, nounload, verblocal area network, nounlog file, LOGO, nounloop, nounlow-level, adjectiveMac, nounmachine, nounmachine code, nounmachine language, machine-readable, adjectiveMacintosh, nounmacro, nounmagnetic disk, nounmagnetic media, nounmagnetic tape, nounmail, nounmail, verbmailbomb, nounmailbox, nounmailing list, nounmail merge, nounmainframe, nounmainframe computer, main memory, manual, adjectivemaximize, verbmegabyte, nounmemory, nounmemory address, memory bank, nounmemory card, nounmemory hog, nounMemory Stick, nounmenu, nounmessage, nounmetadata, nounmicro, nounmicrochip, nounmicrocomputer, nounmicroelectronics, nounmicroprocessor, nounMicrosoft, MIDI, nounmigrate, verbmigration, nounMillennium bug, minicomputer, nounminimize, verbmips, mission-critical, adjectiveMIT, mixer, nounmodel, nounmodel, verbmodelling, nounmodem, nounmodule, nounmonitor, nounMoore, Gordon, Moore's Law, nounmorphing, nounmotherboard, nounMotorola, mouse, nounmouse mat, nounmouse miles, nounmouse potato, nounMP3 player, nounMP4 player, nounMPEG, nounMSC, nounMS-DOS, multimedia, adjectivemulti-player gaming, nounmultiple applications, multiplexer, nounmultitasking, nounnagware, nounNasdaq, nounNASDAQ, Naseem, Prince, National Market System, nounNEC, nerd, nounnest, verbNetscape Navigator, network, nounnetwork, verbneural computer, nounneural network, nounneuroinformatics, nounnewbie, nounnew economy, nounNintendo, node, nounnoise, nounnotebook, nounnumber-cruncher, nounnumber crunching, nounobject, nounobject language, object-oriented, adjectiveOCR, nounOfex, nounoffice machinery, offline, adverboff-line, adjectiveonline, adjectiveonline catalogue, online updating, nounon-screen, adjectiveopen, verbOpen Group, the, open outcry, nounopen system, nounoperating system, nounoperation, nounoptical character recognition, nounoptical fibre, nounoption, nounorder, nounorganizing business, OSI, nounoutbox, nounoutput, nounoutput, verbover-the-counter dealing, over-the-counter market, over-the-counter share, over-the-counter stock, over-the-counter trading, overwrite, verbP2P, adjectivepackage, nounpacket, nounpacket-switching, nounpage, nounpage break, nounpalette, nounpalm phone, nounpalmtop, nounpaperless, adjectiveparallel data query, parallel port, parallel processing, nounPASCAL, nounpass-along, adjectivepassword, nounpaste, verbpasting, nounpatch, nounpause, verbPC, nounPC Card, nounPDA, nounPDF, nounPDF file, pen drive, nounPentium, peripheral, adjectiveperipheral, nounpersonal communicator, nounpersonal computer, nounpersonal electronic device, nounpersonal organizer, nounpetaflop, nounphishing, nounping, verbpiracy, nounpirate, verbpixel, nounplasma screen, nounplatform, nounplatform game, nounPlayStation, plotter, nounplug and play, nounplug-and-play, adjectiveplug-in, nounpointer, nounpop-under, nounpop-up, nounport, nounport, verbportable, adjectivepost, verbpost-industrial, adjectivePostScript, nounPowerPoint, nounprint, verbprinter, nounprintout, nounprint-out, nounprint preview, nounprocess, verbprocessing, nounprocessor, nounprogram, nounprogram, verbprogram file, programmable, adjectiveprogrammer, nounprogramme trading, programming, nounprogramming language, PROLOG, nounPROM, nounprompt, verbprompt, nounprotocol, nounPsion, pull down, nounpull-down, adjectivepull-down menu, nounpunched card, nounquantum computer, nounQuarkXPress, queue, nounqwerty, adjectiveRAM, nounrandom access memory, nounread, verbread only memory, read-only memory, nounread-out, nounread-write, adjectivereal-time, adjectivereboot, verbrecall, verbre-chip, verbrecord, nounrecord, verbrefresh, verbreload, verbremaster, verbremote access, nounremote control, nounremote working, nounreseller, nounreset, verbrespawn, verbretinal scanner, nounretrieval, nounretrieve, verbretry, verbreturn, nounright-click, verbrip, verbroad warrior, nounrobot, nounrollover, nounROM, nounRoute 128, nounrouter, nounroutine, nounRSI, nounRTF, nounrun, verbsalami slicing, nounSamsung, save, verbscalability, nounscalable, adjectivescan, verbscanner, nounscramble, verbscreen, nounscreen-based, adjectivescreen dump, nounscreensaver, nounscreen saver, nounscreenshot, nounscroll, verbscroll bar, nounscroll key, SCSI, nounSEAQ, search, nounsearch, verbsearchable, adjectivesearch engine, nounSEATS, nounsecurity rating, SEGA, self-healing, adjectivesend, verbserial port, server, nounserver farm, nounservice bureau, nounservice pack, nounSET, nounset-up, nounSFA, nounSGML, nounshareware, nounshift, nounshift key, nounshoot-'em-up, nounshopping bot, sig file, nounsilicon, nounsilicon chip, nounSilicon Fen, nounSilicon Glen, Silicon Valley, sim, nounSIMM, nounsimulation, nounSinclair, Sir Clive, single sourcing, skin, nounslo-mo, adjectivesmall office/home office, nounsmart, adjectivesmart bomb, nounsneakernet, nounsoft copy, nounsoftware, nounsoftware engineering, SoHo, SOHO, nounSonic the Hedgehog, sort, nounsoundcard, nounsource code, nounspace bar, nounspam, nounspeech recognition, nounspeech recognition software, speech synthesizer, nounspellcheck, nounspellchecker, nounspell-checker, nounspider, nounspider food, nounspim, nounsplit screen, nounspreadsheet, nounspreadsheet software, spyware, nounstandalone, adjectivestand-alone, adjectivestandby time, nounStarr Report, the, nounstarter pack, nounstart-up, nounstorage, nounstorage unit, store, verbstore-and-forward, nounstrategic information system, stream, verbstreaming, nounStreet Fighter, string, nounstylus, nounsubdirectory, nounsubroutine, nounsuite, nounSun Microsystems, sunrise industry, nounsupercomputer, nounsuperserver, nounsupport, verbsupport, nounswitching, nounsynchronous, adjectivesyntax, nounsynthespian, nounsystem, nounsystem administrator, nounsystems analyst, nounsystems programmer, system tray, nountab, verbtab key, nountab stop, nountag, nountag, verbtape, nountape drive, taskbar, nountechie, nountechnical support, nountechno-, prefixtechnocracy, nountechno-geek, nountechnophobe, nountechy, telecentre, nountelecommuter, nountelematics, nounteleprinter, nounteleworker, nountemplate, nounterabyte, nounteraflop, nounterminal, nountestdeck, nountext-to-speech, adjectivethird-generation, adjectivethird-party software, thumbnail, nountickbox, nountick box, nountime out, nountime-sharing, nountitle bar, nountoggle, nountoner, nountoolbar, nountoolbox, nounTOPIC, nountop-level domain, nountop ranking, nounTorvalds, Linus, Toshiba, Tottenham Court Road, touchpad, nountouch screen, nountrackball, nountransaction processing, transputer, nounTrojan horse, nountroubleshooter, nounTTS, Turing, Alan, tutorial, nounundo, verbuninstall, verbunique visitor, nounUnix, noununlisted share, unlisted stock, unrecoverable error, unzip, verbup, adverbupdate, nounupgrade, verbupload, verbupload, nounuptime, nounusability, nounUSB, nounUSB drive, nounuser-friendly, adjectiveuser group, nounuser interface, nounuser name, nounUS Robotics, utility, nounVActor, nounvalid, adjectivevalue-added reseller, vapourware, nounVDT, nounVDU, nounVGA, nounvideocard, nounvideo game, nounvideo snacking, nounviral marketing, nounvirtual, adjectivevirtual corporation, virtually, adverbvirtual memory, nounvirtual office, nounvirtual organization, virtual reality, nounvirus, nounvoice print, nounvoice recognition, wallpaper, nounWAN, nounWAP, noun-ware, suffixwar game, nounWAV, nounwearable, nounWeb 2.0, nounweb browser, nounweb crawler, nounweb design, nounweb development, web-enabled, adjectiveweb hosting, nounweb log, nounweb log file, wide area network, wi-fi, nounWi-Fi, nounwild card, nounwindow, nounWindows, Wintel, wipe, verbWiponet, nounwireless internet, wireless networking, nounWord, Wordperfect, word processor, nounworkspace, nounworkstation, nounWorld Wide Web, the, worm, nounWozniak, Steve, write, verbwrite-protected, adjectiveWYSIWYG, nounXbox, XML, nounY2K, nounYahoo!, zap, verbzip file, nounzombie, noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSNOUN► ball
1formal to find something and bring it back → recover: · Once, I dived full-length across the court in a vain attempt to retrieve the ball.· Webster retrieved the ball and flipped it underhand to Rhodes, who had anchored himself at the plate.· The fielders try to retrieve the ball quickly and return it to the bowler.· But Mr Barraza and the Duke would not want me to retrieve the ball.· If the ball was dislodged from the dish, you had to stop the car, retrieve the ball and continue.
► body· In fact, he had been taken prisoner after going behind enemy lines to retrieve the body of a friend.· A raven protected the holy corpse from predators until nightfall, when his fellow Christians were able to retrieve his body.· Fire chief Hugo Ernst said it could take four days to retrieve all the bodies.· With some newsreaders, you might need to retrieve the message body and decode in two stages.· It clanged urgently, like a fire-engine dashing towards a disaster, like the ambulance thundering along behind to retrieve the bodies.
► data· The same console will enable the teacher to retrieve data or generate more meaningful reports almost instantaneously.· Under X Window, the user can also retrieve data from several sources simultaneously and switch between applications.· However, researchers have precious little time to retrieve the data.· The read channel retrieves data stored on the disk and writes to the disk.· Having retrieved the raw data, it needs to be transformed into the required information, perhaps by some preceding analysis work.
► document· Even though much of this information may already be in electronic form, retrieving the correct document from a database is not simple.· Text retrieval seeks to interpret what the user says and retrieve the appropriate document from the database.· We were asked to infiltrate the area and retrieve as many documents as we could from the farmhouse.
► file· Mr Virdi allegedly sent a second batch of letters after learning that the force could retrieve deleted files.· Each time Joe Consumer retrieves a file from a commercial server, the payment meter is ticking.
► information· In other words, the act of retrieving the information is the input to other transactions.· When you learn how to search out and retrieve information you are in possession of a golden key to doing successful public relations.· What are the best excavation methods for retrieving this information?· Significantly though, the media do not retrieve the information at some later date for the public's benefit.· The new version of the software automatically indexes, stores and retrieves digital information.· It is totally sealed and spins at very high speeds and can therefore retrieve and store information very quickly.· Basics 8.2.1 All computers are able to store and retrieve information from a non-volatile medium.
► situation· But, as the striker moved in for the kill, the defender retrieved the situation with a splendid recovery tackle.· But if so I felt that I had a chance of retrieving the situation, once I'd made the Fraxillian delivery.· But it is widely expected that further heads will have to roll if the discredited Communist Party is to retrieve the situation.
► user· Text retrieval seeks to interpret what the user says and retrieve the appropriate document from the database.· Under X Window, the user can also retrieve data from several sources simultaneously and switch between applications.· A user can only retrieve a module by quoting a package that already has a version of it as a member.
VERB► bend· Gaily dared not bend to retrieve it.
► store· Basics 8.2.1 All computers are able to store and retrieve information from a non-volatile medium.· In order to store or retrieve information we must have some means by which the computer can refer to any location.
► try· He has spent $ 200,000 so far trying to retrieve his children, and his business has almost collapsed.· The fielders try to retrieve the ball quickly and return it to the bowler.
She bent down to retrieve her earring.retrieve something from something It took four days to retrieve all the bodies from the crash.2technical to get back information that has been stored in the memory of a computer: The new version of the software automatically retrieves digital information.3retrieve a situation British English to make a situation satisfactory again after there has been a serious mistake or problem: The general made one last desperate effort to retrieve the situation.—retrievable adjective