memo
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of memo
By shortening; see -o
Explanation
A memo is a written message. Your boss may send around a memo in your office warning employees to not spend so much time socializing by the water cooler and to get back to work. The intent of most memos is to help you remember something, or to remind another person of something. In a business or government setting, it's particularly important to keep written notes on decisions and communications between people. A written or emailed memo is one way to keep such a record. The word is short for memorandum, "thing to be recorded" in Latin, and a close linguistic relative of memory.
Vocabulary lists containing memo
Total Recall: Mem
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Part 3 Literary Terms (Unit 1)
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Part 3 Literary Terms (Unit 3)
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Even Mexican goalkeeper Memo Ochoa has gotten in on the action, posting a selfie on Instagram wearing a straw cowboy hat with “¿Y si sí?” etched on it.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 2, 2026
Ipsen’s deals for Memo and for Kartos Therapeutics earlier this week are likely to leave it with an estimated net cash position of about 500 million euros at year-end, according to RBC.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 1, 2026
Memo to LeBron James: Which camp will you choose?
From Los Angeles Times • May 16, 2026
Sunday says it costs about $25,000 to make its Memo robot prototypes, but that should be cut down to less than $10,000 as it scales production.
From MarketWatch • Dec. 27, 2025
They headed toward school, but Moss welcomed the sight of Memo, the man who made fruit cups from his cart on MacArthur.
From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.