forget

[fer-get]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR forget ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), for·got or (Archaic) for·gat; for·got·ten or for·got; for·get·ting.

to cease or fail to remember; be unable to recall: to forget someone's name.

to omit or neglect unintentionally: I forgot to shut the window before leaving.

to leave behind unintentionally; neglect to take: to forget one's keys.

to omit mentioning; leave unnoticed.

to fail to think of; take no note of.

to neglect willfully; disregard or slight.

verb (used without object), for·got or (Archaic) for·gat; for·got·ten or for·got; for·get·ting.

to cease or omit to think of something.

Idioms

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

Origin of forget

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

Related formsfor·get·ta·ble, adjectivefor·get·ter, nounun·for·get·ting, adjective

Usage note

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.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for forget

ignore, fail, overlook, neglect, skip, blow, obliterate, omit, discount, drop, slight, blink, trespass, disregard, transgress, disremember, misrecollect, overpass

Examples from the Web for forget

Contemporary Examples of forget

And for those on the Palestinian right who still dream of driving the Jews into the sea, they too can forget it.
In the Middle East, the Two-State Solution Is Dead
Dean Obeidallah
January 2, 2015
But for those on the Israeli right who are hoping that this deferred dream will just fade away, they can forget it.
In the Middle East, the Two-State Solution Is Dead
Dean Obeidallah
January 2, 2015
If we go another year without doing one people will just forget what it was.
Deer Tick's John McCauley on Ten Years in Rock and Roll
James Joiner
January 2, 2015
Forget those silly “games played with the ball”; they are far “too violent for the body and stamp no character on the mind.”
Forget the Resolutions; Try a Few Declarations
Kevin Bleyer
January 1, 2015
And it often travels so lightly that you can forget you are clothed in its benefits.
What Would Happen if I Got in White Cop’s Face?
Goldie Taylor
December 30, 2014

Historical Examples of forget

"I should like to forget that you are my nephew," said the old man.
Brave and Bold
Horatio Alger
And you forget that—that devil—suppose she's as good as her threat?
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
They had talked afterward so feverishly, as if to forget their situation.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
The past slid from him so easily, he forgot even to try to forget.
Malbone
Thomas Wentworth Higginson
All your frien's may forget you, but Deff 'll nebber forget you.
Harriet, The Moses of Her People
Sarah H. Bradford

British Dictionary definitions for forget

forget

verb -gets, -getting or -got or -gotten or archaic, dialect -got

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

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

(tr) to leave behind by mistake

(tr) to disregard intentionally

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

forget oneself

to act in an improper manner
to be unselfish
to be deep in thought

forget it! an exclamation of annoyed or forgiving dismissal of a matter or topic

Derived Formsforgettable, adjectiveforgetter, noun

Word Origin for forget

Old English forgietan; related to Old Frisian forgeta, Old Saxon fargetan, Old High German firgezzan

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for forget

Old English forgietan, from for-, used here with negative force, "away, amiss, opposite" + gietan "to grasp" (see get). To "un-get," hence "to lose" from the mind. A common Germanic construction (cf. Old Saxon fargetan, Old Frisian forjeta, Dutch vergeten, Old High German firgezzan, German vergessen "to forget"). The literal sense would be "to lose (one's) grip on," but that is not recorded in any Germanic language. Related: Forgetting; forgot; forgotten.

Idioms and Phrases with forget

forget

In addition to the idiom beginning with forget

forget it
forget oneself

also see:

forgive and forget