Retrieve  —v. (-ving) 1 a regain possession of. B recover by investigation or effort of memory. 2 obtain (information stored in a computer etc.). 3 (of a dog) find and bring in (killed or wounded game etc.). 4 (foll. By from) rescue (esp. From a bad state). 5 restore to a flourishing state; revive. 6 repair or set right (a loss or error etc.) (managed to retrieve the situation). —n. Possibility of recovery (beyond retrieve).  retrievable adj. Retrieval n. [french trouver find]