remember

American  

[ri-mem-ber] / rɪˈmɛm bər /

verb (used with object)

• remembers,
  present (3rd person singular)
• remembered,
  past participle,  past
• remembering
  present participle

1. to recall to the mind by an act or effort of memory; think of again.

   I'll try to remember the exact date.

   Antonyms:

   forget

2. to retain in the memory; keep in mind; remain aware of.

   Remember your appointment with the dentist.

   Antonyms:

   forget

3. to have (something) come into the mind again.

   I just remembered that it's your birthday today.

4. to bear (a person) in mind as deserving a gift, reward, or fee.

   The company always remembers us at Christmas.

5. to give a tip, donation, or gift to.

   to remember someone in need.

6. to mention (a person) to another as sending kindly greetings.

   Remember me to your family.

7. (of an appliance, computer, etc.) to perform (a programmed activity) at a later time or according to a preset schedule.

   The coffeepot remembers to start the coffee at 7 a.m. every day.

8. Archaic. to remind.

---

verb (used without object)

• remembers,
  present (3rd person singular)
• remembered,
  past participle,  past
• remembering
  present participle

1. to possess or exercise the faculty of memory.

2. to have recollection (sometimes followed byof ).

   The old man remembers of his youth.

remember British  

/ rɪˈmɛmbə /

verb

1. to become aware of (something forgotten) again; bring back to one's consciousness; recall

2. to retain (an idea, intention, etc) in one's conscious mind

   to remember Pythagoras' theorem

   remember to do one's shopping

3. (tr) to give money, etc, to (someone), as in a will or in tipping

4. to mention (a person's name) to another person, as by way of greeting or friendship

   remember me to your mother

5. (tr) to mention (a person) favourably, as in prayer

6. (tr) to commemorate (a person, event, etc)

   to remember the dead of the wars

7. to recover one's good manners after a lapse; stop behaving badly

---

Synonym Usage

Remember, recall, recollect refer to bringing back before the conscious mind things which exist in the memory. Remember implies that a thing exists in the memory, though not actually present in the thoughts at the moment: to remember the days of one's childhood. Recall implies a voluntary effort, though not a great one: to recall the words of a song. Recollect implies an earnest voluntary effort to remember some definite, desired fact or thing: I cannot recollect the exact circumstances.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• rememberer
  noun
• rememberable
  adjective
• unremembered
  adjective
• unremembering
  adjective
• well-remembered
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• remembering
  present
• remembered
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• remember
  simple
• remembers
  simple
• have remembered
  perfect
• has remembered
  perfect
• am remembering
  progressive
• are remembering
  progressive
• is remembering
  progressive
• have been remembering
  perfect progressive
• has been remembering
  perfect progressive

Past

• remembered
  simple
• had remembered
  perfect
• was remembering
  progressive
• were remembering
  progressive
• had been remembering
  perfect progressive

Future

• will remember
  simple
• will have remembered
  perfect
• will be remembering
  progressive
• will have been remembering
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of remember

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English remembren, from Old French remembrer, from Late Latin rememorārī, equivalent to re- re- + Latin memor “mindful” ( see memory) + -ārī infinitive suffix

Explanation

To remember is to recollect, or to call upon your memory. Remember that time you fell out of your tree house and bonked your head? No? Go figure. There are many shades of meaning of remember, but at its core it refers to the act of recalling or thinking back. You can remember something fondly, like your first kiss, or you might remember something suddenly, like when the smell of tar brings back the time your bicycle wheel got caught in a pot hole and you fell off. To remember someone means you show appreciation, like when the Oscar winners try to remember all those names.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

remember remembers remembered remembering

"Thank you for everything you have done for this land -- we will always remember you," wrote one commenter on Weibo.

From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026

I don’t remember the song that was playing when we shot it.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026

They can remember the direction in which current previously flowed even after the power source is removed.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 17, 2026

Curtis said that the deal’s consistency has made it easy for customers to remember.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

Only months afterward did I remember how strangely he spoke them, the urgency, almost desperation in his voice.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

Bill didn’t care if Bare did her actual homework, she remembers, so long as she could tell him which companies paid a dividend.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

Family friend Julie Read, who calls her Gaynor rather than Bonnie Tyler, remembers a much more personal side.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

Cole, 32, remembers asking herself as she lay awake at night after her diagnosis in her 20s at her home on the Debden Estate near Loughton, Essex.

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

The waxy scent that drifts up the escalators at the Los Angeles Central Library is immediately familiar to anyone who remembers the Mold-A-Rama.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

He remembers smacking his forehead because he’d blurted “OW!” in a loud whisper, and a bunch of his classmates had turned to look at him.

From "Clean Getaway" by Nic Stone

They said they wished for him to be remembered "for the wonderful person he was and all that he achieved".

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026

‘Yes, his contributions to entertainment will be long remembered and enjoyed, but his gifts to children will likely have no end,’ writes an L.A.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026

Craig’s vote for that bill 19 months earlier is what her loss will be remembered for.

From Slate ● Aug. 15, 2026

Roosevelt is remembered for something else, too: trust busting.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

I remembered her words, telling me to be true to myself, to shine bright – and for the first time I believed that maybe I could do this.

From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler

But it’s worth remembering that Congress consistently kicks the can down the road until it has no choice but to act, and that’s likely to be true in this case as well.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 6, 2026

“I said, ‘I think this is a scam,’” Spencer recalled, remembering how her client had planned to move into the home herself.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026

For animals in the wild, remembering the location of a reliable food source can be essential for survival.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 29, 2026

The text includes an Omniscient Seashell, drinks that offer forgetfulness or remembering, ghostly apparitions, a magical couples’ retreat at the foot of the Atlas Mountains, and a desert prince who becomes obsessed with Helena.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

The mother looked down at the road, remembering something that seemed to briefly unsettle her.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman

Related Words

• commemorate
• get
• learn
• look back
• recall
• recognize
• relive
• remind