MEANING
1. The process of finding and bringing back something that was lost, stored, or left elsewhere.
2. The process of locating and obtaining information held in a computer or information system.
3. The cognitive process of bringing stored information back into conscious use or awareness.
Use it for
describing recovery of a physical object; distinguishing finding from bringing something back; identifying which part of a recovery process succeededSeparates recovery of an object, computer information access, and the cognitive process of bringing information to mind. Writing functions: Research / Methodology, Evidence.
Words that belong together
- retrieval of an object
- successful retrieval
- a retrieval operation
On the page
The report records the retrieval of the notebooks but not the recovery of their missing pages.
Retrieval became possible only after the flooded passage was cleared.
The evaluation separates retrieval of relevant documents from the accuracy of the claims they contain.
Changing the index improved retrieval without changing the underlying records.
The photograph aided retrieval of the location but not the sequence of events.
Word forms
- Base
- retrieval
Usage notes
Usually uncountable for a process; retrievals for separate retrieval events or operations. Retrieval of an object or information; retrieval from memory or storage. Register: neutral. Commonness: moderately common (qualitative editorial estimate, informed by dictionaries/corpus).
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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