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
Chris Higgins, Kansas City Star, 22 Aug. 2025
In 2022, spurred on by how streaming and vinyl sales afforded her a continuing and lucrative relevancy, Melanie and her manager, Dave Thompson, delved into her voluminous archives to develop deluxe reissues of her entire album catalog.
—Marcus K. Dowling, The Tennessean, 21 Aug. 2025
Doug Ross, Chicago Tribune, 30 Aug. 2025
Capture too many photos, which may end up archived or deleted later.
—Dana Afana, Freep.com, 28 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for archive
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Noun
At one time, the lights even suggested the weather forecast, according to The Star archives.
—Chris Higgins, Kansas City Star, 22 Aug. 2025
In 2022, spurred on by how streaming and vinyl sales afforded her a continuing and lucrative relevancy, Melanie and her manager, Dave Thompson, delved into her voluminous archives to develop deluxe reissues of her entire album catalog.
—Marcus K. Dowling, The Tennessean, 21 Aug. 2025
Verb
Attendees wanted to archive the past but not dwell on it.
—Doug Ross, Chicago Tribune, 30 Aug. 2025
Capture too many photos, which may end up archived or deleted later.
—Dana Afana, Freep.com, 28 Aug. 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 6 Sep. 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: a place in which public records or historical documents are preserved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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