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

See Examples For:

short-term memory

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 14, 2026

TurboQuant is an algorithm designed to address bottlenecks in the key-value cache, which Google describes as a “digital cheat sheet,” effectively acting as the short-term memory for an artificial-intelligence model.

From Barron's ● Mar. 26, 2026

But Gemini seems to have short-term memory lapses and kept suggesting other places to try.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 25, 2026

Their short-term memory deteriorated, as did their spatial awareness.

From BBC ● Jan. 12, 2026

“Would you be interested in coming to see him? If it’s a good day, he can be quite talkative. It’s really his short-term memory that is lacking, but he may remember your mom.”

From "The Line Tender" by Kate Allen