retriever

noun

re·​triev·​er ri-ˈtrē-vər 

: one that retrieves

especially : a dog of any of several breeds having a heavy water-resistant coat and used especially for retrieving game

Examples of retriever in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

And as the sheep stood its ground, staring down the would-be herder, viewers online could not help but empathize with the retriever's retreat. —Melissa Fleur Afshar, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 Sep. 2025

Tiny and populous, the mighty Chihuahua also sits at No. 2 on a national level, right behind Labrador retrievers. —Paige Moore, AZCentral.com, 8 Sep. 2025

Kristen Winn watched in tears as her daughter Emily, a student at the Annunciation school, sat on the curb with her arm wrapped around Gideon, a 10-year-old English cream retriever, on Friday. —Alex V. Cipolle, Twin Cities, 1 Sep. 2025

Urban Dog Bar opened in December and has become a daily refuge for Meghan Dunlap and her dog Ace, a 100-pound Husky-retriever mix. —Craig Shoup, The Tennessean, 21 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing retriever

• Chesapeake Bay retriever
• curly-coated retriever
• flat-coated retriever
• golden retriever
• Labrador retriever

Rhymes for retriever

• achiever
• believer
• deceiver
• perceiver
• receiver
• reliever
• transceiver
• cleaver
• fever
• leaver
• weaver
• unbeliever

Kids Definition

retriever

noun

re·​triev·​er ri-ˈtrē-vər 

: one that retrieves

especially : a dog (as a golden retriever) of any of several breeds having a heavy water-resistant coat and used especially for retrieving game