lest we forget

American  

[lest wee fer-get] / ˈlɛst ˌwi fərˈgɛt /

idiom

1. we should not forget (often used as a cautionary phrase).

   Lest we forget, many large conflicts have started over small, insignificant areas.

   Lest we forget, fake news is still with us.

2. in case you have forgotten (used facetiously).

   The 1980s, lest we forget, was a terrible era for fashion.

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Etymology

Origin of lest we forget

Refrain from Rudyard Kipling's poem “Recessional” (1897)

Example Sentences

And, lest we forget, it was only halftime.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 5, 2026

You are, lest we forget, already in a high income-tax bracket.

From MarketWatch • Jan. 13, 2026

But lest we forget that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, or that the parts extend far beyond the confines of athleticism alone.

From Salon • Aug. 10, 2024

She’s so much more than Johnny Cash’s wife – lest we forget she wrote “Ring of Fire,” after all.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 14, 2024

“I have my old father and these three small mouths and another about to be born. We must go lest we forget our nature and eat each other as the wild dogs do.”

From "The Good Earth" by Pearl S. Buck