Retrieves

Retrieves is the third-person singular present form of the verb retrieve. In general use, retrieve means to get back something that was lost or misplaced, to fetch or bring something to the speaker, or to recover access to information or memories. It is a transitive verb, typically requiring an object (retrieve something).

Etymology and sense development: Retrieve comes from Middle English retrieven, likely from Old French retraivre or retriever, built from re- meaning back and tirer meaning to pull. The core idea is bringing back or regaining possession, and the sense widened to include fetching items or recovering information and data.

Common uses: In everyday language, one might say a person retrieved their umbrella or retrieved a forgotten clue. In cognition, to retrieve a memory means to recall it from memory storage. In computing and information science, retrieval refers to fetching data or documents from storage, or to the broader field of information retrieval, which studies how to locate relevant information within large collections. In data systems, retrieval performance depends on indexing, query processing, and storage characteristics. In sports or animal training, to retrieve is to fetch a game or object, as in a dog that retrieves a ball.

Notes and related terms: Retrieve is often used interchangeably with fetch in casual speech, though fetch is more informal. The past tense is retrieved, and the noun form retrieval is common in technical contexts, such as data retrieval, search and retrieval systems, and archival retrieval. The present form retrieves can describe actions taken by a singular subject in real time.