forget

American  

[fer-get] / fərˈgɛt /

verb (used with object)

• forgets,
  present (3rd person singular)
• forgot,
  past
• forgat,
  past (Archaic)
• forgotten,
  past participle
• forgetting
  present participle

1. to cease or fail to remember; be unable to recall.

   to forget someone's name.

2. to omit or neglect unintentionally.

   I forgot to shut the window before leaving.

3. to leave behind unintentionally; neglect to take.

   to forget one's keys.

4. to omit mentioning; leave unnoticed.

5. to fail to think of; take no note of.

6. to neglect willfully; disregard or slight.

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verb (used without object)

• forgets,
  present (3rd person singular)
• forgot,
  past
• forgat,
  past (Archaic)
• forgotten,
  past participle
• forgetting
  present participle

1. to cease or omit to think of something.

idioms

1. forget oneself, to say or do something improper or unbefitting one's rank, position, or character.

forget British  

/ fəˈɡɛt /

verb

1. (when tr, may take a clause as object or an infinitive) to fail to recall (someone or something once known); be unable to remember

2. (tr; may take a clause as object or an infinitive) to neglect, usually as the result of an unintentional error

3. (tr) to leave behind by mistake

4. (tr) to disregard intentionally

5. (when tr, may take a clause as object) to fail to mention

6. 1. to act in an improper manner

   2. to be unselfish

   3. to be deep in thought

7. an exclamation of annoyed or forgiving dismissal of a matter or topic

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forget More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing forget

• forgive and forget

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Usage

Both forgot and forgotten are used as the past participle of forget : Many have already forgot (or forgotten ) the hard times of the Depression. Only forgotten is used attributively: half-forgotten memories.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• forgetter
  noun
• forgettable
  adjective
• unforgetting
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• forgetting
  present
• forgotten
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• forget
  simple
• forgets
  simple
• have forgotten
  perfect
• has forgotten
  perfect
• am forgetting
  progressive
• are forgetting
  progressive
• is forgetting
  progressive
• have been forgetting
  perfect progressive
• has been forgetting
  perfect progressive

Past

• forgat
  simple
• forgot
  simple
• had forgotten
  perfect
• was forgetting
  progressive
• were forgetting
  progressive
• had been forgetting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will forget
  simple
• will have forgotten
  perfect
• will be forgetting
  progressive
• will have been forgetting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of forget

First recorded before 900; for- + get; replacing Middle English foryeten, Old English forg(i)etan; cognate with Old Saxon fargetan, Old High German firgezzan

Explanation

When you forget something, you can't recall or remember it. An actor who forgets his lines might need some helpful cues from the other actors on stage. You might forget on online password, or forget to return your library books. You can also deliberately forget something: "I've decided to forget about becoming rich and famous and focus on what I like to do." When you accidentally leave something behind, like your umbrella, you also forget it. The Old English root of forget is forgietan, "fail to remember or neglect inadvertently."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

forget forgets forgat forgot forgotten forgetting

It’s not that I forget about the cameras, but I understand, being a contestant, this is their real life that’s happening.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

It becomes a kind of optimization theater; the athletes overindex on the margins and forget what actually matters.

From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026

Those in the land they left behind would be forced to forget.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026

"Effectively, the designers were hoping the residents would not forget to close their windows," he said.

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026

I would never forget the image of those hunks of rock falling around our heads as we ran for the platform.

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin

That is, until Tom forgets his jacket inside the bookstore.

From Salon ● Jul. 12, 2026

Its subject is Hannah Upp, a young teacher prey to dissociative fugue states in which she forgets her own identity.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026

"The system forgets you; that is the beauty of it," says Anadol.

From Barron's ● Jun. 19, 2026

But when the games matter most, the unstoppable offensive machine who revolutionized the sport somehow forgets how to score.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 28, 2026

A daughter who forgets how to eat, well that was bad, but it was just a phase and I was over it.

From "Wintergirls" by Laurie Halse Anderson

There I lay down and went to sleep before long, but deemed I heard no little talk going on betwixt Anna and the guest ere I forgat it all.

From The Sundering Flood by May Morris

To you! to you! all song of praise is due: Only for you the heaven forgat all measure.

From A History of Elizabethan Literature by George Saintsbury

That concourse thrilled for joy: Alone that seven years' child retained the word: The rest forgat it.

From Legends of the Saxon Saints by Aubrey De Vere

I well-nigh forgat the sleeves—green velvet, slashed of mallard-colour satin; and guarded o’ silver lace—three pound, eight shillings, and four pence.”

From Joyce Morrell's Harvest The Annals of Selwick Hall by Emily Sarah Holt

Kate forgat her leg, and Jack his mowes, and all we, stag and hunters alike, ran to the gallery window for to gaze.

From In Convent Walls The Story of the Despensers by M. (Madelaine) Irwin

But he didn’t even begin to solve the larger problem: “House of the Dragon” is an epic that forgot to create any sort of hero.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

"They can't be shoved to the back and forgot about. We'll do everything we can to make sure that doesn't happen."

From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026

Marine Corps officer from Dayton, Ohio, who had bought three tickets on a whim and promptly forgot about them.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026

It’s an underrated, retro way to discover songs you’ve never heard, songs by artists you love, and songs by artists you forgot you love.

From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2026

All of the children forgot that their lips were zipped.

From "All About Sam" by Lois Lowry

“Silence” refers to the long period during which part of the fossil lay forgotten, while “leg” refers to the type of preserved material, consisting mainly of limb bones.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 10, 2026

Kusman, 86, has dedicated his life to the fortress of Cavustepe in eastern Turkey, and to learning the language of the vanished kingdom of Urartu, to honour its forgotten gods and rulers.

From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026

Working alongside a largely forgotten network of women, she arranged training, negotiated visa rules, raised funds and corresponded with colleagues in Berlin and Jerusalem—the practical education in politics that Mr. Meyer restores to view.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

"It just sort of hit home that one, the killer was still at large, and two, this man has largely been forgotten about," O'Brien said.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

But every day, winter and summer for the rest of her life, Rose-Ivy visited Mary’s grave, planting flowers, tending to the weeds, and talking to her, so she knew she wasn’t forgotten.

From "The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs" by Betty G. Birney

Whereas the poem ends with order restored, the film leaves history caught in an endless cycle of collapse, rebirth and forgetting.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026

But queer clubs were never only about forgetting.

From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026

"I want to see a stress response, excitement, emotional anxiety, fear, shouting, forgetting to breathe, perhaps breathing too much, all of the above."

From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026

Setting and forgetting your student-loan payments could soon give you a big discount.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 18, 2026

“The Uncle was using forgetting hexes on the Gran and Alaric because he wanted them to forget that the Spares were going to solve the impossible task. Rulean just stopped them.”

From "Witchlings" by Claribel A. Ortega

Related Words

• fail
• ignore
• neglect
• overlook
• skip