archive

noun ar·chive \ ˈär-ˌkīv \

Updated on: 13 May 2018

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

See archive defined for English-language learners

See archive defined for kids

Recent Examples of archive from the Web

An infinite archive and a perfect algorithm don’t add up to a culture.

— a. o. scott and manohla dargis, New York Times, "Dear Movie Industry, We Have Thoughts," 2 May 2018
The scene is a clip Twitter user landru79 recently created from 25 minutes’ worth of images from the European Space Agency (ESA) archives.

— julissa treviño, Smithsonian, "Comet “Snowstorm” Swirling in This Stunning GIF Is a Tricky Illusion," 30 Apr. 2018
Highlights include George Carlin's personal archives and a hologram theater that presents performances of some of comedy's most notable figures.

— susan glaser, cleveland.com, "Western New York's National Comedy Center will open in August with Amy Schumer, Dan Aykroyd, Lily Tomlin," 23 Apr. 2018
Sources: Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Express-News archives and The New York Times.

— San Antonio Express-News, "Timeline: Genene Jones' path from murder to parole," 18 Apr. 2018
At Colbert’s behest, Foucault had plundered monastic archives and intimidated their librarians.

— jacob soll, The New Republic, "How Islam Shaped the Enlightenment," 12 Apr. 2018
Is part of your process going deep into newspaper archives and stuff?

— noah johnson, GQ, "Cali Thornhill Dewitt and the Ghosts of Los Angeles," 12 Apr. 2018
The collection and archive thus owned the 11 pieces automatically and was in the position to donate them to the city.

— anna webb, idahostatesman, "Boise artist James Castle’s home opens to the public this month. Here’s what to know | Idaho Statesman," 10 Apr. 2018
Ralph Lauren dipping into the Polo archive, particularly, has proven fruitful for the brand.

— liz raiss, GQ, "Polo's CP-93 Collection Is All Glorious Yacht Style," 25 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'archive.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of archive

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1603

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

archive Synonyms

Synonyms

library;

archive

verb

archived; archiving

transitive verb

: to file or collect in or as if in an archive

archive documents

archived tissue samples

See archive defined for English-language learners

Examples of archive in a Sentence

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 of archive from the Web

Data compiled during those hours will later be archived and analyzed for signals stemming from extraterrestrial technology.

— josh hafner, USA TODAY, "Stephen Hawking was looking for alien life when he died. That search just got a big boost," 8 May 2018
But some of it is actually being archived for museum use.

— michele corriston, PEOPLE.com, "What Kerry Washington Will Miss the Most About Starring on Scandal," 19 Apr. 2018
The full-time position with benefits also requires experience in archiving, attention to detail, and the ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines.

— lisa marie segarra, Fortune, "Prince's Paisley Park is Hiring. Here's What They're Looking For," 18 Apr. 2018
For important missions Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11, the first craft to fly-by Jupiter and the asteroid belt, only 30 to 59 percent of the data was archived.

— jason daley, Smithsonian, "These Rare NASA Photos Were Saved From the Trash," 11 Apr. 2018
Use an emulsion blend to create a smooth and velvety soup consistency or pour small quantities into an electric blend until the same results are archived.

— philip potempa, Post-Tribune, "Carrots are a colorful ingredient addition for any season," 30 Mar. 2018
Generally speaking, private keys for TLS certificates should never be archived by resellers, and, even in the rare cases where such storage is permissible, they should be tightly safeguarded.

— dan goodin, Ars Technica, "23,000 HTTPS certificates axed after CEO emails private keys," 1 Mar. 2018
This Tuesday, April 24th, at exactly 10am EST, Acne Studios will open AcneArchive.com, a fleeting online outlet selling exclusive archived Acne-brand picks to U.S. shoppers, for up to 75% off retail price.

— megan decker, Harper's BAZAAR, "Acne Studios is Launching A 48-Hour Pop-Up Sale—And Archive Pieces Are Up To 75% Off," 23 Apr. 2018
Vilma posted a screenshot of a Sun Sentinel archived story on it in the Twitter thread.

— david furones, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Jonathan Vilma, Luther Campbell engage in Twitter feud over Miami Hurricanes," 19 Apr. 2018

Origin and Etymology of archive

see ¹archive

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1831

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

ARCHIVE Defined for English Language Learners

archive

verb

: to collect and store materials (such as recordings, documents, or computer files) so that they can be found and used when they are needed

ARCHIVE Defined for Kids

archive

noun ar·chive \ ˈär-ˌkīv \

: a place in which public records or historical papers are saved

Learn More about archive

See words that rhyme with archive Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for archive Spanish Central: Translation of archive Nglish: Translation of archive for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of archive for Arabic speakers

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archive

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