archive

1 of 2

noun

ar·​chive ˈär-ˌkīv 

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

Synonyms of archive

Noun

• library

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

But a recent investigation into our recipe archives turned up one dessert from 1969 that was quite peculiar—Pixie Pie. — Josh Miller, Southern Living, 1 Aug. 2026

Those will likely include trend-savvy running looks from Puma’s archives as well as the brand’s iconic Suede franchise. — Cathrin Schaer, Footwear News, 31 July 2026

Verb

Responsibility, on Wikipedia, meant that every edit was logged, every disagreement archived, every change reversible. — Carson Griffith, New Yorker, 30 July 2026

This feature is modeled after Martha’s lifelong system for organizing and archiving her home records. — Michele Laufik, Martha Stewart, 29 July 2026

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

Rhymes for archive

• alive
• arrive
• beehive
• connive
• contrive
• deprive
• derive
• khedive
• revive
• survive
• dive
• drive

Kids Definition

archive

1 of 2 noun

ar·​chive ˈär-ˌkīv 

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: a place in which public records or historical documents are preserved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