by heart

Idioms  

1. Also, by rote. From memory; also, mechanically. For example, Betty had trouble learning the song by heart, but her teacher insisted on it, or Japanese schools put heavy emphasis on learning by rote. These terms are often put as. The first term was already used by Chaucer (in Troilus and Cressida). The variant, also dating from the 1300s, often implies mere memorization without deeper understanding. Both phrases remain in use, although this form of learning is no longer so widespread as it once was. Also see commit to memory.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

by heart

You can recite the climbing gospel by heart: Save more, max the match, don’t touch it, buy and hold.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 16, 2026

These are songs from an earlier generation, but the participants - who look like they are mainly in their 20s and 30s - know them by heart.

From BBC ● Jun. 6, 2026

Sphere has discovered an unexpected hit formula: the performance space that is the most cutting-edge technically works with bands, whose frontmen are old enough to have decades of greatest hits that everyone knows by heart.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026

The R&B singer was hospitalized in early January in Las Vegas, sidelined by heart pain and pneumonia, according to TMZ.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 28, 2026

She used to watch Artie the Aardvark too, so she knew every cartoon by heart.

From "Sleepover Sleuths: Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew, #1" by Carolyn Keene

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