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
Laia Farran Graves, Forbes, 3 Mar. 2025
Here’s a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on March 2, according to the Tribune’s archives.
—Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 2 Mar. 2025
Derek Scancarelli, Forbes, 4 Mar. 2025
After Trump’s inauguration, the Public Environmental Data Project, a volunteer coalition that preserves public access to federal environmental data, archived the Council on Environmental Quality’s Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (CEJST).
—Reuters, NBC News, 11 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for archive
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Noun
The piece was inspired by an archive dress from Chanel’s 1995 Spring/Summer couture collection.
—Laia Farran Graves, Forbes, 3 Mar. 2025
Here’s a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on March 2, according to the Tribune’s archives.
—Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 2 Mar. 2025
Verb
Around the same time, Croce was archiving some of his father’s home recordings.
—Derek Scancarelli, Forbes, 4 Mar. 2025
After Trump’s inauguration, the Public Environmental Data Project, a volunteer coalition that preserves public access to federal environmental data, archived the Council on Environmental Quality’s Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (CEJST).
—Reuters, NBC News, 11 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for archive
Articles Related to archive
Cite this Entry
“Archive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/archive. Accessed 12 Mar. 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: a place in which public records or historical documents are preserved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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