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).

---

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

---

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.

---

Discover More

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

In the first stage of the disease, some people also experience short-term memory problems, depression, aggressive tendencies, and executive function issues, according to the CTE Society, a non-profit group.

From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026

The company’s SGLang software engine makes AI models process queries more efficiently and at lower cost by better utilizing short-term memory.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 5, 2026

“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

“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