reminisce
Americanverb (used without object)
-
reminisces,
present (3rd person singular)
-
reminisced,
past participle, past
-
reminiscing
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
reminiscesimple
-
reminiscessimple
-
have reminiscedperfect
-
has reminiscedperfect
-
am reminiscingprogressive
-
are reminiscingprogressive
-
is reminiscingprogressive
-
have been reminiscingperfect progressive
-
has been reminiscingperfect progressive
Past
-
reminiscedsimple
-
had reminiscedperfect
-
was reminiscingprogressive
-
were reminiscingprogressive
-
had been reminiscingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of reminisce
First recorded in 1820–30; back formation from reminiscence
Explanation
Reminisce is a dreamy way of saying "remember the past." If you're swapping old stories with friends and remembering all the silly things you used to do, then you're reminiscing. Reminiscing is all about happy recollections and thinking back to stories from the past. It's hard to reminisce about the old days with someone you don't know very well or haven't known very long, since a key part of reminiscing is a shared history. But just about anyone can reminisce about going elementary school, learning to tie shoelaces, or getting that first job.
Vocabulary lists containing reminisce
List 2
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Think Tank: Thought-Provoking Vocabulary
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
10 Words that Inspired Taylor Swift
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
In interspersed interviews, Knoxville and his pals reminisce about their time together with a distinct wistfulness.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026
They reminisce about the brown bread: those sweet, dark little wheat loaves scented with honey, molasses, cocoa powder and espresso.
From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2026
"The games make us reminisce about our childhood... not only can we be healthier, but we can also enjoy that nostalgic feeling with our inner child," Akira said.
From Barron's ● Jun. 15, 2026
"Also to reminisce about people who maybe didn't survive cardiovascular disease and being able to raise awareness and educate."
From BBC ● Apr. 9, 2026
They went home to a good Thanksgiving dinner of pot roast and home-made noodles and spent the afternoon listening to Papa reminisce how he had gone around Thanksgiving Day as a boy.
From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith
Early in his extraordinary new documentary, “Remake,” seasoned filmmaker Ross McElwee reminisces with his young son, Adrian, about their travels together, presenting McElwee’s films at various festivals around the world.
From Salon ● Jul. 24, 2026
"I remember vividly reading it on the 273 bus to Ealing from my home in Ruislip, when I was about 11 or 12 years old," he reminisces.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
She reminisces on a childhood growing up in a repressive household during the 1960s, when second-wave feminism and the women’s liberation movement were just starting to achieve legitimacy.
From Salon ● Mar. 14, 2026
She also reminisces about how Mar-a-Lago is where her father gave Barron swim lessons, Donald Trump played golf with Barron, and Barron took his first tennis lessons with her.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 31, 2026
Naano gushes as she reminisces about this most wonderful day.
From "Zara’s Rules for Record-Breaking Fun" by Hena Khan
Washington Post columnist Marc Thiessen reminisced about working two jobs, living with roommates and eating ramen after college.
From Salon ● Aug. 13, 2026
Walking through, Hajj Ali reminisced on her home in Nabatieh al-Fawqa, which she was only able to visit once after an April truce that ultimately failed to stop the fighting.
From Barron's ● Jul. 19, 2026
Others were pulled back to their lab days: “Considering volunteering my services as I have unintentionally killed Desmodesmus cultures many times,” one scientist reminisced on Bluesky.
From Slate ● Jun. 27, 2026
Rooney and Walcott were joined on the show by Jermain Defoe as the trio reminisced on their time with England.
From BBC ● Jun. 8, 2026
We sang, told stories, reminisced about this or that.
From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez
Harry Styles opened the first night of his record-breaking residency at Wembley Stadium by reminiscing about his audition for The X Factor, 16 years ago.
From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026
Whether Musk was supporting SpaceX’s valuation or reminiscing about Tesla is unclear.
From Barron's ● Jun. 2, 2026
He worked with my sister in “War of the Worlds,” and I was like a 5-year-old running around on set, and we were kind of reminiscing about that.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 26, 2026
Former “Grey’s Anatomy” showrunner Krista Vernoff shared an Instagram post fondly reminiscing about when Dane returned to the set in 2021 to film a dream sequence featuring his character, who died in Season 9.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 20, 2026
For the next few minutes, Miss Emily went on reminiscing about different events from those days, mentioning a lot of people whose names meant nothing to us.
From "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro
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.
