retriever

noun

re·​triev·​er ri-ˈtrē-vər How to pronounce retriever (audio)
: one that retrieves
especially : a dog of any of several breeds having a heavy water-resistant coat and used especially for retrieving game

Examples of retriever in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Every so often, labradoodles, cocker spaniels, retrievers, dachshunds and their owners trotted by the aperture of the shack’s open door. Susan Dominus, New York Times, 3 Mar. 2024 Sora, a labrador-pitbull mix, has spent over two and a half years at the Valley Animal Center in Fresno, California After almost three years in the care of Valley Animal Center in Fresno, California, Labrador retriever/pit bull mix Sora finally found a home, but the adoption was sadly short-lived. Brendan Le, Peoplemag, 26 Feb. 2024 The horses are greeted in town by a Labrador retriever, another nostalgic callback to previous Super Bowl ads that feature both the iconic Clydesdales and a lab. Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 6 Feb. 2024 For example, a 10-year-old Labrador retriever will typically cost over $100 per month to insure with a traditional accident and illness policy—nearly double the cost of insuring a younger dog. Kat Tretina, wsj.com, 6 Dec. 2023 Use embeddings to build a retriever model that can take a user’s input and pull relevant chunks out of that example set. Haomiao Huang, Ars Technica, 23 Aug. 2023 Hunting breeds include labs, spaniels, and retrievers. Jennifer Nelson, Southern Living, 15 Dec. 2023 By Serpell’s early rough estimates, more than a quarter of cats might be retrievers. Lauren Leffer, Scientific American, 14 Dec. 2023 Golden and Labrador retrievers are are popular family pets and superstars in the field. Phil Bourjaily, Field & Stream, 21 Sep. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'retriever.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of retriever was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near retriever

Cite this Entry

“Retriever.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/retriever. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

retriever

noun
re·​triev·​er ri-ˈtrē-vər How to pronounce retriever (audio)
: one that retrieves
especially : a dog (as a golden retriever) of any of several breeds having a heavy water-resistant coat and used especially for retrieving game

More from Merriam-Webster on retriever

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