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

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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

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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

Marriage, lest we forget, is a personal, legal and financial contract.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 12, 2026

“I want to tell their stories so profoundly that no one will ever forget these characters,” she told the Dallas Morning News of her characters in 2017.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 11, 2026

"You forget other people don't know that voice and they need to get to know that starting point to be able to appreciate everything else."

From BBC ● Nov. 9, 2026

Lying there, watching a movie with the fan running while drinking tea, Vlasenko could almost forget what was happening around him.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

“I wasn’t using you, I promise. But . . . I can’t forget about the essay.”

From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison

Here’s the thing about spending a month off-grid and overseas: Your body forgets how it feels to exist in America every day.

From Slate ● Nov. 1, 2026

"Just in case President Trump or anyone else forgets, we've set up this sign to remind them, it's Lake Ontario, now and forever," Ontario Premier Doug Ford said.

From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026

It seems likely that with each passing year, humanity collectively forgets more of its cultural heritage than it manages to learn anew.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026

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

From Salon ● Jul. 12, 2026

“He forgets a lot. Like now, he forgets he’s only a young boy.”

From "When the Sea Turned to Silver" by Grace Lin

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

But the blood cried against them from the ground, and the Gods forgat them not.

From Stories from the Greek Tragedians by Alfred John Church

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

"And I visit upon her the days of the Baalim, to whom she burnt incense, and put on her ring and her ornament, and went after her lovers, and forgat Me, saith the Lord."

From Christology of the Old Testament: And a Commentary on the Messianic Predictions, Vol. 1 by Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg

I forgat to tell you, that you must lay a Puff-paste at the bottom of the dish, before you put in the bread, and cover it with the same.

From The Closet of Sir Kenelm Digby Knight Opened by Anne MacDonell

“People’s willingness to listen to scientists was not necessarily coming back after laetrile. And I think regulators and scientists forgot it at their own peril.”

From Slate ● Nov. 12, 2026

A mural of Bonnie Tyler has been unveiled in her hometown as a tribute to the global star "who never forgot her roots".

From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026

“I completely forgot how often the same actors came back playing totally different characters,” she said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026

It’s possible that they forgot prior generosity and focused on your “sorry, no.”

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 25, 2026

“Boy-oh-boy, Grandpa,” I said, “I almost forgot Daisy’s ribbons.”

From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls

But that doesn’t mean they are entirely forgotten.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 9, 2026

“We’ve really forgotten that, as human beings, we are wired to ground ourselves through our connection to other people,” she says.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 9, 2026

Last month it was gutted by fire in a suspected arson attack, and some believe it should be completely destroyed, the site returned to nature and all memory of its Nazi past forgotten.

From BBC ● Nov. 8, 2026

I sat with her during her final two weeks, and I don’t think he’s forgotten that.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 6, 2026

Suddenly the nearly forgotten scar where Tiamat's tooth had pierced his palm began to throb.

From "Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher" by Bruce Coville

Meanwhile, the misgivings that both Padam Singh and Heera Devi say they initially had about stepping in front of the camera and forgetting their lines are gone now.

From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026

But he says it’s better than the alternative — forgetting it’s there and reaching up to scratch or rub his face.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2026

"I am slowly forgetting all the tricks," he said.

From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026

As memory scholar Paul Connerton has argued, some forms of forgetting are not failures but necessary parts of social life.

From Salon ● Sep. 8, 2026

“Wait,” Penelope cried, forgetting her fear and chasing after them.

From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood

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Related Words

• fail
• ignore
• neglect
• overlook
• skip

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