remember
Americanverb (used with object)
-
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
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to retain in the memory; keep in mind; remain aware of.
Remember your appointment with the dentist.
- Antonyms:
- forget
-
to have (something) come into the mind again.
I just remembered that it's your birthday today.
-
to bear (a person) in mind as deserving a gift, reward, or fee.
The company always remembers us at Christmas.
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to give a tip, donation, or gift to.
to remember someone in need.
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to mention (a person) to another as sending kindly greetings.
Remember me to your family.
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(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.
-
Archaic. to remind.
verb (used without object)
-
to possess or exercise the faculty of memory.
-
to have recollection (sometimes followed byof ).
The old man remembers of his youth.
verb
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to become aware of (something forgotten) again; bring back to one's consciousness; recall
-
to retain (an idea, intention, etc) in one's conscious mind
to remember Pythagoras' theorem
remember to do one's shopping
-
(tr) to give money, etc, to (someone), as in a will or in tipping
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to mention (a person's name) to another person, as by way of greeting or friendship
remember me to your mother
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(tr) to mention (a person) favourably, as in prayer
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(tr) to commemorate (a person, event, etc)
to remember the dead of the wars
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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
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rememberernoun
-
rememberableadjective
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unrememberedadjective
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unrememberingadjective
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well-rememberedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
remembersimple
-
rememberssimple
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have rememberedperfect
-
has rememberedperfect
-
am rememberingprogressive
-
are rememberingprogressive
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is rememberingprogressive
-
have been rememberingperfect progressive
-
has been rememberingperfect progressive
Past
-
rememberedsimple
-
had rememberedperfect
-
was rememberingprogressive
-
were rememberingprogressive
-
had been rememberingperfect progressive
Future
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.
Vocabulary lists containing remember
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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.
See Examples For:
“I remember suggesting something and people being like, ‘Ah, I don’t know if I want to do that.’
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
U.S. fans may remember Julian Green, who made history when he scored with his first touch at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, becoming the national team’s youngest goal scorer at 19 years old.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
"It's important to me that he's alive... his hand is particularly badly injured, and he's got burns. He's not able to communicate, he doesn't remember the whole event," she said.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
“When asked what he wanted people to remember about him, he said, ‘I was a one-take actor.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
And then I remember setting it on the bench beside me at the restaurant.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
And I was like, ‘No, you don’t get to do that to me. It’s my record,’” he remembers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
Lee McGrath, 51, from Bridgend, remembers spending his summers exploring and playing hide-and-seek with the other kids in the tunnels.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
One night in college, she remembers eating an entire pizza, a bag of cookies, and a gallon of mint-chip ice cream while standing in her kitchen, before even removing her coat.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
“I’ve been wanting to do an Imax feature since I was 16 and went to the Omnimax Theatre at Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry,” Nolan remembers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026
Usually nobody remembers who originally wrote it, or who changed it, and there may be more than one version of any particular folk song.
From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones
The film is best remembered as a statement of Nolan’s resistance to the encroachment of streaming.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
He remembered how immigration agents “did it with respect” when they caught him living in this country illegally in the 1970s and 1980s.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
"I have never once thought about how I'm going to be remembered," said the 30-year-old American.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
It is this second version of Graham that will be remembered by history.
From Salon ● Jul. 13, 2026
And that was the thing about laughter, he remembered: When one was already laughing, everything seemed a thousand times funnier.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
They discovered that tau is not necessary for learning something new or remembering it shortly afterward.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 12, 2026
Germany’s postwar identity was built around remembering its crimes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
It is worth remembering that what you are watching is not normal.
From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026
It’s worth remembering that “The Studio” won comedy series last year, and its co-creator, Seth Rogen, prevailed here.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026
She was remembering, and then I was remembering, too.
From "Ida B" by Katherine Hannigan
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.
