retriever

C2 Topic:Animals

US /ɹiˈtɹivəɹ/ UK /rɪˈtriːvə/ See IPA manual

Freq #28807

Meanings

1

noun
a gun dog trained to find and bring back shot game, or a dog belonging to one of the breeds developed for that work

The retriever swam across the lake and returned with the fallen bird.
2

noun
a person, device, or software component that finds and brings something back

The archive's retriever located the requested document within seconds.
3

noun
a surgical instrument used to recover material or an object from inside the body

The surgeon used a small retriever to remove the stone through the catheter.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a gun dog trained to find... gun dogsporting dog

2 noun · a person, device, or... fetcherrecovery tool

3 noun · a surgical instrument used... retrieval device

Word family

Related forms retrieveLabrador retrievergolden retrievergame dog

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

golden retriever
a breed of retriever with a long golden coat

Adjective + noun

Etymology

Formed from retrieve + the agent suffix -er, literally 'one that retrieves.' Retrieve entered English through Old French retrouver, 'to find again,' from re- ('again') + trouver ('to find'). The dog sense became established as specialized hunting breeds were developed.

Topics

Animals Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# retriever

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ɹiˈtɹivəɹ/
**IPA (UK):** /rɪˈtriːvə/
**Frequency rank:** 28807

## Meanings
1. a gun dog trained to find and bring back shot game, or a dog belonging to one of the breeds developed for that work
2. a person, device, or software component that finds and brings something back
3. a surgical instrument used to recover material or an object from inside the body

## Examples
- The retriever swam across the lake and returned with the fallen bird.
- The archive's retriever located the requested document within seconds.
- The surgeon used a small retriever to remove the stone through the catheter.

## Synonyms
- gun dog
- fetcher
- recovery tool
- retrieval device

## Related Forms
- retrieve
- Labrador retriever
- golden retriever
- game dog

## Etymology
Formed from retrieve + the agent suffix -er, literally 'one that retrieves.' Retrieve entered English through Old French retrouver, 'to find again,' from re- ('again') + trouver ('to find'). The dog sense became established as specialized hunting breeds were developed.

## Topics
- Animals
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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