I. rə̇.ˈtrēv, rē.ˈ- verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English retreven, retriven, modification of Middle French retrover, retrouver to find again, from re- + trouver to find, probably from (assumed) Vulgar Latin tropare to compose — more at troubadour
transitive verb
1.
a. obsolete : to discover again (game once sprung) ; especially : to flush (partridges) a second time
b. : to discover and bring in (killed or wounded game)
2. : to call to mind again (as by study or an effort of memory) : find again
memory withdrew further, retrieved the visit of two summers ago — George Green
a gesture retrieved from long ago — New Yorker
3. : regain , repossess
retrieved his fortune — H.E.Scudder
go back to the box and retrieve the letter — Elizabeth M. Roberts
retrieved his position of preeminence — Current Biography
4.
a. obsolete : to bring back : make return : recall
b. : to reel in : draw back
allowing the fly to sink beneath the surface of the water before retrieving it — Alexander MacDonald
c. : to get possession of : rescue , salvage
Greek sculpture retrieved from the ruins of Roman Carthage — A.J.Liebling
built his shanty from lumber retrieved from steamboat disasters — American Guide Series: Arkansas
d. : to successfully return (a ball or shuttlecock that is difficult to reach)
5. : restore , revive
wrote … to retrieve the heroic past — Van Wyck Brooks
retrieved himself by deciding to become a lawyer — C.R.Williams
6. : to remedy the evil consequences of : make good : repair , correct
third edition … retrieves many of the faults of the second — F.L.Pick & G.N.Knight
the defeat was retrieved — Jacquetta & Christopher Hawkes
retrieving the fundamental error of underestimating the skill of the enemy general — New Republic
retrieve the situation
intransitive verb
1. : to bring in game ; also : to bring back an object thrown by a person
teach a dog to retrieve
2. obsolete : recuperate
3. : to reel or draw in a fishing line
allow the lure to sink close to the bottom, then give a sharp jerk and retrieve for a few feet — Fishing Tackle Cat.
Synonyms: see recover
II. noun
( -s )
1. obsolete : the rediscovery or second flushing of game (as birds once sprung)
2. : retrieval
surface … baits always float upon the surface of the water and remain there during the retrieve — Fishing Tackle Cat.
3. : the successful return of a ball that is difficult to reach or control (as in tennis or volleyball)