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 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

Her granddaughter Susan Crater, a Georgetown Law School graduate and former lawyer, picked up the baton, brought the archives to the marketplace and started textiles and wall covering firm Sister Parish Designs in 2000. — Sofia Celeste, Footwear News, 24 Sep. 2026

One set is being offered at Sotheby’s, while the matching three-bottle set will remain permanently in The Macallan’s archive. — George Nelson, ARTnews.com, 24 Sep. 2026

Verb

If the records aren’t kept, nothing can be archived and FOIL is useless. — New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 24 Sep. 2026

It will be livestreamed and archived on the Fort Worth ISD Live YouTube channel, and on the FWISD Video on Demand site. — Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 Sep. 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: a place in which public records or historical documents are preserved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