plural archives
: a place in which public records or historical materials (such as documents) are kept
an archive of historical manuscripts
The original movie was stored in a film archive.
also
: the material that is stored in an archive
He has been reading through the archives to research his article on the town's history.
archives; archived; archiving
: to collect and store materials (such as recordings, documents, or computer files) so that they can be found and used when they are needed
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
Cite this Entry
“Archive.” Merriam-Webster.com Simple Definition, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/simple/archive. Accessed 14 Apr. 2026.
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