Archive: The Building, the Boxes, and the Button on Your Inbox
An archive is a collection of records kept for the long term, the place that keeps them, and — since email — a verb meaning to move something out of sight but not delete it.
An archive is a store of documents and records kept because they have lasting value. The word covers the collection, the building and, since computing borrowed it, the act of filing something away rather than throwing it out.
- A collection of records. *The company archive goes back to 1904.*
- The place that holds them. *She spent the week in the archive.*
- A compressed file. *Download the archive and unzip it.*
- To store away (verb). *Archive the message instead of deleting it.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | archive | The national archive. |
| Plural | archives | Searching the archives. |
| Verb | archive | Archive old projects. |
| Person | archivist | An archivist catalogued it. |
| Adjective | archival | Archival quality paper. |
How it is used in a sentence
- The footage came from a television archive.A collection.
- Archive it — do not delete it.The computing verb, now the most common use.
- Store the prints in archival boxes.Archival means made to last, acid-free.
Archive, library and museum
- Archive — unique records, usually unpublished, kept as evidence
- Library — published works, usually many copies exist elsewhere
- Museum — objects, displayed and interpreted
From Greek *arkheia*, public records, from *arkhē*, government — the same root as *anarchy* and *monarchy*. Archives began as the state's memory, not a private collection.
Archive or archives?
Both. The plural is traditional for an institution (*the National Archives*); the singular is normal for a collection or the computing sense.
What does archival mean?
Suitable for long-term storage — acid-free paper, stable inks, controlled temperature and humidity.