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 used in 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

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

The claim: Image shows Ole Miss student protesters holding pro-Trump banner A May 5 Instagram post (direct link, archive link) shows a group of students holding a large red banner outside the J.D. Williams Library at the University of Mississippi. —Andre Byik, USA TODAY, 9 May 2024

For her first Met Gala appearance, Grammy winning South African singer and songwriter Tyla wore a Balmain gown fashioned out of sand, an homage to the Costume Institute’s exhibit of fashion items from the Met’s archives too fragile to be worn again. —Lisa Gutierrez, Kansas City Star, 7 May 2024

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

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: a place in which public records or historical documents are preserved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