Definition of "archive" in English

noun

1. A place for storing earlier, and often historical, material. An archive usually contains documents (letters, records, newspapers, etc.) or other types of media kept for historical interest.

2. The material so kept, considered as a whole (compare archives).

   • His archive of Old High German texts is the most extensive in Britain.

3. (ecology) Natural deposits of material, regarded as a record of environmental changes over time.

   • soil archive
   • peat archive

verb

1. (transitive) To place (something) into an archive.

   • I was planning on archiving the documents from 2001.