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
archived; archiving
: 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
Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 15 May 2025
The organization’s archives include copies not only of every winner but every submission since the beginning.
—Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 14 May 2025
Abigail Adams, People.com, 14 May 2025
Unfortunately, the live Zoom meeting was just that and was not meant to be archived.
—Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 14 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for archive
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Noun
Maynard previously inherited the document from the archives of leading 18th century abolitionists, Thomas and John Clarkson.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 15 May 2025
The organization’s archives include copies not only of every winner but every submission since the beginning.
—Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 14 May 2025
Verb
The Vatican also announced that any content posted by Francis before his death will be archived.
—Abigail Adams, People.com, 14 May 2025
Unfortunately, the live Zoom meeting was just that and was not meant to be archived.
—Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 14 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for archive
Cite this Entry
“Archive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/archive. Accessed 21 May. 2025.
Copy CitationKids 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: a place in which public records or historical documents are preserved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
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