1. A single file containing one or (usually) more separate files plus information to allow them to be extracted (separated) by a suitable program. Archives are usually created for software distribution or backup. tar is a common format for Unix archives, and arc or PKZIP for MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows. 2. To transfer files to slower, cheaper media (usually magnetic tape) to free the hard disk space they occupied. This is now normally done for long-term storage but in the 1960s, when disk was much more expensive, files were often shuffled regularly between disk and tape. 3. archive site. (1996-12-08)
