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Glite Dictionary
🎾 To get back 🧠 To recall
to retrieve

to retrieve

254 3.7
To go and get something and bring it back, for example a dog bringing a ball
  • verb
  • /rɪˈtriːv/
: recoger
  • The dog went to retrieve them so he could do both of these things, retrieving, pointing, hunting.

And then only go and retrieve things as you need or want them.

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Examples

  • After the storm, we went to retrieve our belongings from the beach.

  • And to your question, Tim, you know, so when the person dies, invariably the Mortuary needs to come and retrieve the body.

  • And then only go and retrieve things as you need or want them.

    Chris Williamson

  • I need you to find one for me and retrieve it and bring me.

  • Now we have to retrieve it, again.

    Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

  • And now, I'll retrieve the papers.

    Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties (2006)

  • In this test, each team must act as a single unit to avoid obstacles, retrieve the sweet rock and return to the nest.

    The Ant Bully (2006)

  • The cleanser I use let me just go quickly retrieve it from my shower.

  • So now you're going to retrieve the stuff you made.

  • And Mark Watney goes out to retrieve it, to use it to restore communications with with Earth.

    SciShow

Synonyms

to get back
vsto retrieve
∞ 1.6

Have again something you had before it was lost or taken

focuses more on the action of going and bringing an item back
to bring back
vsto retrieve
∞ 1.7

Return someone or something to the place they came from

is about going to get items rather than moving them back to a place
to recover
vsto retrieve
865 2.5

Get back to a normal state after a loss, for example health or money

is narrower, focusing on going to fetch and bring back items
to take back
vsto retrieve
400 3.0

Get back something you had given, lent, or lost

includes that sense but emphasizes physically fetching and returning
to regain
vsto retrieve
252 3.3

To get something back after losing it

stresses the physical act of going and bringing items back
to find
vsto retrieve
215 1.0

To get back an ability, feeling, or quality you had before

focuses more on physically going to obtain and bring back objects
to fetch
vsto retrieve
202 1.0

To go and bring back something or someone

is broader, used especially for lost, left, or stored items
to reclaim
vsto retrieve
130 4.1

To get back something you lost or gave away

is less about claiming and more about fetching and returning items
to retake
vsto retrieve
43 4.6

To take back control of a place after it was lost

is more about fetching a particular item to return it
to reacquire
vsto retrieve
6 5.5

To get something back after you lose or give it up

often means going to find and bring a specific stored or lost item
to restore
vsto retrieve
6 3.4

Return someone to their family or a thing to its owner

centres on the act of going and bringing an item back
to refetch
vsto retrieve
  • Specialized
1 5.9

To get information again from a server or page

applies more generally to physical items and returning them

Antonyms

to lose
∞ 1.0

Not be able to find something you once had

How Difficult

salvage
29 5.5
to recover
865 2.5
to retrieve
254 3.7
to grab
∞ 1.0
to pick up
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

retrieve infinitive
retrieved past
retrieved past participle
retrieving present participle
retrieves third person singular

Morphology

retrieve = re + trieve

The productive prefix 're-' (back/again) gives a clear cue, but the root 'trieve' is not a standalone English word, so the full structure is not fully obvious to learners.

Etymology

The word retrieve comes from the parts re- 'again' and Old French trouver 'to find', so it originally meant 'to find again'. That's why to retrieve something is to go, get it, and bring it back.