re‧triev‧al /rɪˈtriːvəl/ noun [uncountable]

1. technical the process of getting back information stored on a computer system:
a new system that should speed up information retrieval

2. the act of getting back something you have lost or left somewhere

3. be beyond/past retrieval if a situation is beyond retrieval, it has become so bad that it cannot be made right again

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲