reminder
Americannoun
noun
-
something that recalls the past
-
a note to remind a person of something not done
Etymology
Origin of reminder
Explanation
A reminder helps you remember something. If you write "don't forget lunch" on your arm every morning, it means you need a reminder to grab your brown paper bag on your way out the door. A reminder helps you remember, whether it's an appointment, an acquaintance's name, or a grocery list. You can give yourself a reminder, or write one to another person who's prone to forgetting details. The word's been around since the 1650s, and it came from remind, which originally meant "to remember." Later, remind came to mean "to make someone remember," or "to put someone in mind of something."
Vocabulary lists containing reminder
"Mexico City"
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"The Lemon Story"
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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.
“This is a stark reminder of the dangers of human smuggling,” Treviño said.
From Los Angeles Times • May 16, 2026
The answer, of course, was a robust “heck no,” and this weekend, the White House is offering a reminder why.
From Salon • May 15, 2026
Peter Kyle, MP for Hove and Portslade, said the incident was a "sobering and heartbreaking reminder that our families, neighbours and communities are what is important".
From BBC • May 14, 2026
But recovering the money would require separate proceedings—a reminder that winning a case and recovering what you lost are not always the same thing.
From Slate • May 14, 2026
Though a number of Labadists still lived at La Providence, the plantation was eerily quiet, a bleak reminder of the dangers of colonial life.
From "The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian's Art Changed Science" by Joyce Sidman
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.
