short-term memory

American  

noun

1. information retained in the brain and retrievable from it over a brief span of time (contrasted with long-term memory).

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short-term memory British  

noun

1. psychol that section of the memory storage system of limited capacity (approximately seven items) that is capable of storing material for a brief period of time Compare long-term memory

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short-term memory Cultural  

1. Retention of information that undergoes little processing or interpretation and can be recalled for only a few seconds. Short-term memory can retain about seven items.

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A popular example of short-term memory is the ability to remember a seven-digit telephone number just long enough to dial a call. In most cases, unless the number is consciously repeated several times, it will be forgotten.

Etymology

Origin of short-term memory

First recorded in 1965–70

Example Sentences

“Congress has a short-term memory, that is the difficulty here,” the staffer said.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2026

Duterte's defence had argued the former leader's short-term memory was "demonstrably impacted" to the extent he could not "retain information for more than a short space of time."

From Barron's • Jan. 26, 2026

Pathway’s architecture organizes short-term memory very differently than the transformer, with an update mechanism that resembles what is found in the brain, and, crucially, has the same storage pattern as long-term memory, according to Stamirowska.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 1, 2025

For many years, researchers focused on two primary memory centers: the hippocampus, which supports short-term memory, and the cortex, which was believed to store long-term memories.

From Science Daily • Nov. 30, 2025

“The police located the old man, but his short-term memory is poor. He did give them money. He can’t remember how much.”

From "The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm" by Nancy Farmer