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 Ransom Center is planning an exhibition drawn from the archive, set to open this fall. —Jennifer Schuessler, New York Times, 15 Jan. 2025

Here’s a look from the Miami Herald archives: MIAMI BEACH SURFSIDE MIAMI-DADE NORTH MIAMI BEACH MIAMI HIALEAH MIAMI SPRINGS WEST MIAMI CORAL GABLES MIAMI SHORES MIRAMAR HOLLYWOOD BROWARD SHERIFF This story was originally published August 5, 2023 at 10:07 AM. —Jeff Kleinman, Miami Herald, 15 Jan. 2025

Verb

The federal organization tasked with archiving the country’s most precious records and documents is currently looking for volunteers who can read the cursive writing of over 200 years' worth of documents, USA Today reported. —Danielle Jennings, People.com, 15 Jan. 2025

Both planes aborted their approaches, circled the airport and then landed without incident, in a recording archived on LiveATC.net. —Joel Rose, NPR, 14 Jan. 2025

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: a place in which public records or historical documents are preserved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