Information Retrieval Terms

noun a question, especially one addressed to an official or organization

verb to ask a question or inquire about something

• Please submit your query in writing for further clarification.
• If you have any questions, just shoot me a query.
• Hey, hit me up if you've got a query about that.
• Her query into his motives revealed some surprising truths.

noun the act of regaining or recovering something that was lost or misplaced

• The retrieval of data from the database was successful.
• I was able to get back the information from the database.
• I managed to pull up the data from the database.
• Retrieving memories from the past can be a bittersweet experience.

adjective describing or relating to written or printed material

adverb used to modify a verb, adjective, or other adverb, often indicating manner or degree

• The professor emphasized the importance of analyzing the textual evidence in the research paper.
• I always struggle with understanding the textual references in the novel we're reading.
• I skimmed through the textbook and found the textual examples to be pretty straightforward.
• The artist used textual elements in his painting to convey a deeper meaning.

verb to incorrectly place or arrange in a file or system

• The secretary accidentally misfiled the important documents in the wrong folder.
• Oops, I misfiled those papers in the wrong place.
• I totally messed up and misfiled those files, my bad.
• Sometimes in life, we misfile our priorities and end up focusing on the wrong things.

noun a large group of people or things that are closely packed together in a disorderly way

verb to jump on top of someone or something in a disorderly way

• The children formed a dogpile as they played in the park.
• Let's dogpile on John when he walks in the room!
• We all dogpiled on the last slice of pizza.
• The company faced a dogpile of lawsuits after the scandal was exposed.