archive

1 of 2

noun

ar·​chive ˈär-ˌkīv How to pronounce archive (audio)
1
: a place in which public records or historical materials (such as documents) are preserved
an archive of historical manuscripts
a film archive
also : the material preserved
often used in plural
reading through the archives
2
: a repository or collection especially of information

archive

2 of 2

verb

archived; archiving

transitive verb

: to file or collect in or as if in an archive
archive documents
archived tissue samples

Examples of archive in a Sentence

Verb The organization was devoted to cataloging and archiving printed materials on the labor movement. She archived her e-mail messages in a folder on her hard drive. a collection of archived articles
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
The two of them took a moment to mourn the imminent departure of Dries Van Noten from his namesake label (and to scour The RealReal for their own personal archives). Alex Jhamb Burns, Vogue, 21 Mar. 2024 The claim: Image shows a CNN report on Kenya seeking US watercraft to invade Haiti A March 14 Instagram post (direct link, archive link) shows a screenshot of a social media post supposedly from CNN about unrest in Haiti. Andre Byik, USA TODAY, 19 Mar. 2024 This report contains information from Enquirer archives. Cheryl Vari, The Enquirer, 15 Mar. 2024 Vicious and violent hate mail is outweighed by letters from supporters and fellow survivors, and Blasey Ford expects to donate them, piling up on her dining room table, to an archive or museum. Alexandra Jacobs, New York Times, 15 Mar. 2024 Part of the monumental Balboa Park complex of museums, this institution is known not only for its aircraft, but its in-depth exhibits of famous aviators, including the Wright Brothers, Charles Lindbergh, and Amelia Earhart, as well as its extensive library and archives. Stefanie Waldek, Travel + Leisure, 14 Mar. 2024 The film uses a collage of 2D animation and family archives to tell the story of a girl who for 15 years suffered abuse at the hands of a priest who was jailed and subsequently set free. Christopher Vourlias, Variety, 14 Mar. 2024 For her part, Kendall pulled from the archives in a glittering old-and-black scalloped gown from Jean Paul Gaultier's spring/summer 2008 haute couture collection. Brittany Talarico, Peoplemag, 11 Mar. 2024 Barbie: The World Tour will also include rare images from Mattel’s archives, designer sketches, Polaroid photos and more from Barbie’s whimsical world, all presented in collages by art director Fabien Baron. Danielle Directo-Meston, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Mar. 2024
Verb
To artist and former hospice volunteer Suzanne Brennan Firstenberg, who is archiving 20,000 flags from the memorial with anthropology professor Sarah E. Wagner, the nation’s reckoning with loss is just beginning. Jenna Portnoy, Washington Post, 16 Mar. 2024 This post is a collaboration between PEOPLE and StoryCorps, the largest collection of human voices ever archived. Joanne Fowler, Peoplemag, 22 Mar. 2024 In a world where millions of us over-share and the content we over-share is stored, reviewed by humans and archived for months or even years, something is going to break. Zak Doffman, Forbes, 23 Feb. 2024 Loy said among local governments, the city of San Diego does a good job of archiving thousands of records requests on its system. Jeff McDonald, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Feb. 2024 Shortly after noon, first responders received the call in the area of the 100 block of North University Drive, near Mission Lakes Apartments, according to radio transmissions archived by the streaming site Broadcastify. Angie Dimichele, Sun Sentinel, 8 Jan. 2024 The Twitch channel has since been removed, but Talia Jane, an independent reporter who received a link to the video earlier Sunday, archived the video and shared it with CBS News. Jordan Freiman, CBS News, 25 Feb. 2024 The findings will be archived at the Museum of Zoology at the University of Costa Rica. Emilee Coblentz, USA TODAY, 18 Jan. 2024 The event will be archived and available for replay on the Company's website. Miami Herald, 5 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'archive.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Verb

French & Latin; French, from Latin archivum, from Greek archeion government house (in plural, official documents), from archē rule, government — more at arch-

First Known Use

Noun

1603, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1831, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of archive was in 1603

Dictionary Entries Near archive

Cite this Entry

“Archive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/archive. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

archive

1 of 2 noun
ar·​chive ˈär-ˌkīv How to pronounce archive (audio)
1
: a place in which public records or historical documents are preserved
also : the material preserved
usually used in plural
2
: a collection of information

archive

2 of 2 verb
archived; archiving
: to file or collect in or as if in an archive
was archiving documents

More from Merriam-Webster on archive

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