{
  "definition": "Retrieval using dense vector representations of queries and items, typically compared using a vector similarity or distance function.",
  "id": "dense-retrieval",
  "kind": "Representation",
  "license": "https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/",
  "modifiedAt": "2026-09-12T21:39:00Z",
  "prefLabel": "Dense Retrieval",
  "publisher": {
    "name": "Searchplex",
    "url": "https://searchplex.net/"
  },
  "relations": [
    {
      "note": "Dense retrieval is a retrieval approach; a dense encoder is an encoding component that may be used within it.",
      "target": "dense-encoder",
      "type": "notEquivalentTo"
    },
    {
      "note": "Dense Passage Retrieval is a specific dense retrieval method for passage retrieval; dense retrieval is the broader approach using dense representations.",
      "target": "dense-passage-retrieval",
      "type": "notEquivalentTo"
    },
    {
      "note": "Dense retrieval is a retrieval approach using dense representations; a dual encoder is one common architecture for implementing it.",
      "target": "dual-encoder",
      "type": "notEquivalentTo"
    },
    {
      "note": "Semantic search is an intent-oriented product term and may use dense retrieval, sparse retrieval, hybrid retrieval, or other methods.",
      "target": "semantic-search",
      "type": "notEquivalentTo"
    },
    {
      "note": "Dense retrieval describes the use of dense representations; single-vector retrieval describes representing each retrievable item with one vector.",
      "target": "single-vector-retrieval",
      "type": "notEquivalentTo"
    },
    {
      "note": "Dense retrieval is a specific learned dense-vector retrieval approach; vector search is a broader practitioner term.",
      "target": "vector-search",
      "type": "notEquivalentTo"
    },
    {
      "target": "dense-encoder",
      "type": "related"
    },
    {
      "target": "dense-passage-retrieval",
      "type": "related"
    },
    {
      "target": "dual-encoder",
      "type": "related"
    },
    {
      "target": "hybrid-retrieval",
      "type": "related"
    },
    {
      "target": "semantic-search",
      "type": "related"
    },
    {
      "target": "single-vector-retrieval",
      "type": "related"
    },
    {
      "target": "vector-search",
      "type": "related"
    }
  ],
  "representations": {
    "html": "https://id.searchplex.net/dense-retrieval/",
    "json": "https://id.searchplex.net/dense-retrieval.json",
    "jsonld": "https://id.searchplex.net/dense-retrieval.jsonld"
  },
  "scheme": "https://id.searchplex.net/scheme/",
  "scopeNote": "Dense retrieval normally refers to learned low- or moderate-dimensional dense embeddings. It is narrower than the broad practitioner term vector search.",
  "status": "published",
  "terms": [
    {
      "community": "industry",
      "label": "Embedding Retrieval",
      "usage": "nearSynonym"
    }
  ],
  "uri": "https://id.searchplex.net/dense-retrieval/"
}