To retrieve means to go get something and bring it back. When you retrieve your backpack from your locker, you walk there, pick it up, and carry it back to where you need it. When a dog retrieves a tennis ball, it chases after the thrown ball and brings it back to you.

The word emphasizes the complete action: going to where something is, getting it, and returning with it. You might retrieve a book from the library shelf, retrieve a file from your computer folders, or retrieve information from your memory during a test. Hunters use dogs called retrievers that are specifically bred to find and bring back birds that have been hunted.

In sports like tennis or volleyball, players try to retrieve shots that look almost impossible to reach. A difficult retrieval happens when a player runs across the court and manages to get the ball back into play.

Sometimes people retrieve things from difficult or distant places. Archaeologists retrieve ancient artifacts from dig sites. Scientists retrieve data from satellites orbiting Earth. The key idea is always the same: successfully getting something from wherever it is and bringing it back to where it's needed.