memorize
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of memorize
Explanation
If you memorize something you know it by heart. When you were a little kid, you were probably asked to memorize “The Pledge of Allegiance,” meaning you could recite it from memory with no cheat sheets. To memorize something is to get it into your memory, but it usually implies you’re learning something more complex than a new acquaintance’s name or the time of your next dentist appointment. People typically memorize things like multiplication tables, the periodic chart, Shakespearian quotes, lines for the community theater play, and their nine hundred different online passwords. There are many systems that people use for memorization: flash cards, association, color coding, and even sleeping with the book under their pillow.
Vocabulary lists containing memorize
Holes
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Brown Girl Dreaming
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The Circuit
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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.
Memorize the first part, then the first part plus the second part, and so on.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 14, 2026
All Neuroscience 101 students learn about it, and they're like, "Memorize this, this is what it does, go on."
From Salon • Oct. 3, 2021
She had also written an influential book that laid out her reservations about the word-rush: Einstein Never Used Flashcards: How Children Really Learn and Why They Need to Play More and Memorize Less.
From The Guardian • Apr. 3, 2018
Memorize them quickly: These freshmen standouts probably will be off to the N.B.A. in several months.
From New York Times • Nov. 14, 2017
“No, we have to go on Wednesday. I’ll write you full details of my plan. You must show the plan to no one. Memorize all the details; then destroy my note.”
From "From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler" by E.L. Konigsburg
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.
