collective memory
Americannoun
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a memory or memories shared or recollected by a group, as a community or culture.
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any collection of memories passed from one generation to the next.
noun
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.
The King of Pop holds a singular place in popular culture and our collective memory.
From Salon • May 14, 2026
Since the 1979 revolution which established the Islamic republic, such imagery has served as a medium to reflect ideology and collective memory.
From Barron's • Apr. 22, 2026
In your introduction, you quote Yale Law School’s Jack Balkin, reflecting upon “the use of collective memory in a constitutional argument.”
From Slate • Mar. 16, 2026
But Redford the actor was equally exceptional, a charismatic icon who starred in some of the greatest films in the 1970s and ’80s, movies that remain ingrained in our collective memory.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 16, 2025
A few have lodged firmly in the state’s collective memory.
From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer
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.
