reminisce
Americanverb (used without object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
reminiscesimple
-
reminiscessimple
-
have reminiscedperfect
-
has reminiscedperfect
-
am reminiscingprogressive
-
are reminiscingprogressive
-
is reminiscingprogressive
-
have been reminiscingperfect progressive
-
has been reminiscingperfect progressive
Past
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reminiscedsimple
-
had reminiscedperfect
-
was reminiscingprogressive
-
were reminiscingprogressive
-
had been reminiscingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of reminisce
First recorded in 1820–30; back formation from reminiscence
Explanation
Reminisce is a dreamy way of saying "remember the past." If you're swapping old stories with friends and remembering all the silly things you used to do, then you're reminiscing. Reminiscing is all about happy recollections and thinking back to stories from the past. It's hard to reminisce about the old days with someone you don't know very well or haven't known very long, since a key part of reminiscing is a shared history. But just about anyone can reminisce about going elementary school, learning to tie shoelaces, or getting that first job.
Vocabulary lists containing reminisce
List 2
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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:
Shortly after he and Adrian reminisce about the mishap in Munich, McElwee continues his narration.
From Salon ● Jul. 24, 2026
In interspersed interviews, Knoxville and his pals reminisce about their time together with a distinct wistfulness.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026
"The games make us reminisce about our childhood... not only can we be healthier, but we can also enjoy that nostalgic feeling with our inner child," Akira said.
From Barron's ● Jun. 15, 2026
Perhaps that's what gave him permission to reminisce about the Fab Four on The Boys of Dungeon Lane.
From BBC ● May 27, 2026
It was around this point - and I have no idea if he had planned to do so beforehand - that his lordship began to reminisce about his late friend, Herr Karl-Heinz Bremann.
From "The Remains of the Day" by Kazuo Ishiguro
Early in his extraordinary new documentary, “Remake,” seasoned filmmaker Ross McElwee reminisces with his young son, Adrian, about their travels together, presenting McElwee’s films at various festivals around the world.
From Salon ● Jul. 24, 2026
She reminisces on a childhood growing up in a repressive household during the 1960s, when second-wave feminism and the women’s liberation movement were just starting to achieve legitimacy.
From Salon ● Mar. 14, 2026
She also reminisces about how Mar-a-Lago is where her father gave Barron swim lessons, Donald Trump played golf with Barron, and Barron took his first tennis lessons with her.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 31, 2026
Time-travelling to Swift's high school days in Tennessee, it reminisces about a boy she confined to the friend zone while yearning for a single kiss.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2025
Naano gushes as she reminisces about this most wonderful day.
From "Zara’s Rules for Record-Breaking Fun" by Hena Khan
Others were pulled back to their lab days: “Considering volunteering my services as I have unintentionally killed Desmodesmus cultures many times,” one scientist reminisced on Bluesky.
From Slate ● Jun. 27, 2026
"Low plastic stool, cheap but delicious noodles, cold Hanoi beer," former US president Barack Obama reminisced about a meal he shared there with late chef Anthony Bourdain in 2016.
From Barron's ● Jun. 2, 2026
He reminisced about his mother buying him only generic “plastic” sneakers, then shared some of the discomfort he experienced when he moved into the nicer Brooklyn Heights neighborhood after he had some musical success.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 14, 2026
BBC Scotland news correspondent Jamie McIvor reminisced about fond memories of working with Hayes as a teenager on a viewer access programme in the late 1980s.
From BBC ● Dec. 1, 2025
Mrs. Weasley was intrigued by the Whomping Willow, which had been planted after she had left school, and reminisced at length about the gamekeeper before Hagrid, a man called Ogg.
From "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" by J. K. Rowling
Harry Styles opened the first night of his record-breaking residency at Wembley Stadium by reminiscing about his audition for The X Factor, 16 years ago.
From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026
Whether Musk was supporting SpaceX’s valuation or reminiscing about Tesla is unclear.
From Barron's ● Jun. 2, 2026
He shuffles through them, reminiscing about his parents, siblings and cousins.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 18, 2026
He worked with my sister in “War of the Worlds,” and I was like a 5-year-old running around on set, and we were kind of reminiscing about that.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 26, 2026
Our last Saturday night on the Island, the compound folks sit on Tía Carmen's patio, reminiscing.
From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez
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.
