forget

American  

[fer-get] / fərˈgɛt /

verb (used with object)

• forgets,
  present (3rd person singular)
• forgot,
  past
• forgat,
  past (Archaic)
• forgotten,
  past participle
• forgetting
  present participle

1. to cease or fail to remember; be unable to recall.

   to forget someone's name.

2. to omit or neglect unintentionally.

   I forgot to shut the window before leaving.

3. to leave behind unintentionally; neglect to take.

   to forget one's keys.

4. to omit mentioning; leave unnoticed.

5. to fail to think of; take no note of.

6. to neglect willfully; disregard or slight.

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verb (used without object)

• forgets,
  present (3rd person singular)
• forgot,
  past
• forgat,
  past (Archaic)
• forgotten,
  past participle
• forgetting
  present participle

1. to cease or omit to think of something.

idioms

1. forget oneself, to say or do something improper or unbefitting one's rank, position, or character.

forget British  

/ fəˈɡɛt /

verb

1. (when tr, may take a clause as object or an infinitive) to fail to recall (someone or something once known); be unable to remember

2. (tr; may take a clause as object or an infinitive) to neglect, usually as the result of an unintentional error

3. (tr) to leave behind by mistake

4. (tr) to disregard intentionally

5. (when tr, may take a clause as object) to fail to mention

6. 1. to act in an improper manner

   2. to be unselfish

   3. to be deep in thought

7. an exclamation of annoyed or forgiving dismissal of a matter or topic

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forget More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing forget

• forgive and forget

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Usage

Both forgot and forgotten are used as the past participle of forget : Many have already forgot (or forgotten ) the hard times of the Depression. Only forgotten is used attributively: half-forgotten memories.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• forgetter
  noun
• forgettable
  adjective
• unforgetting
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• forgetting
  present
• forgotten
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• forget
  simple
• forgets
  simple
• have forgotten
  perfect
• has forgotten
  perfect
• am forgetting
  progressive
• are forgetting
  progressive
• is forgetting
  progressive
• have been forgetting
  perfect progressive
• has been forgetting
  perfect progressive

Past

• forgat
  simple
• forgot
  simple
• had forgotten
  perfect
• was forgetting
  progressive
• were forgetting
  progressive
• had been forgetting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will forget
  simple
• will have forgotten
  perfect
• will be forgetting
  progressive
• will have been forgetting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of forget

First recorded before 900; for- + get; replacing Middle English foryeten, Old English forg(i)etan; cognate with Old Saxon fargetan, Old High German firgezzan

Explanation

When you forget something, you can't recall or remember it. An actor who forgets his lines might need some helpful cues from the other actors on stage. You might forget on online password, or forget to return your library books. You can also deliberately forget something: "I've decided to forget about becoming rich and famous and focus on what I like to do." When you accidentally leave something behind, like your umbrella, you also forget it. The Old English root of forget is forgietan, "fail to remember or neglect inadvertently."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

forget forgets forgat forgot forgotten forgetting

I’m starting to forget where I left the house key, my iPhone or the ⅜-inch Craftsman ratchet wrench—unless I stick to my rule of fastidiously putting everything in its place.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026

Have a team, and don’t forget about your own needs.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026

Reading from some notes she said she had made as "she didn't want to get nervous and forget", Grande said the "decision was made from a thoughtful and empowered place."

From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026

“Do they just say we only care about profit, forget about the sustainability part? That might kill the brand.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026

‘Always together in that heart. You are my one true family. Keep this and remember that it’s you and me together. I’ll never forget that. All right?’

From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler

That is, until Tom forgets his jacket inside the bookstore.

From Salon ● Jul. 12, 2026

Its subject is Hannah Upp, a young teacher prey to dissociative fugue states in which she forgets her own identity.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026

No matter how big he becomes, he never forgets where he came from.

From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026

"The system forgets you; that is the beauty of it," says Anadol.

From Barron's ● Jun. 19, 2026

‘I never forgets a face, least of all when it’s as sly as that! ’Ee’s one of’em all right!

From "Boy: Tales of a Childhood" by Roald Dahl

Yet he forgat not, father as he was Of these, his absent eldest, whom he mourn’d 30 Ceaseless, and thus his speech, weeping, began.

From The Odyssey of Homer by Cowper, William

At thowghts ov ivverlastin pains, An’ bein bund iv endless chains, Mah bleead, like ice, ran thruff mah veins Wi’ shivrin dreead; Ah cudden’t sleep, an’ Ah forgat Te eat mah breead.

From Awd Isaac, The Steeple Chase, and other Poems With a glossary of the Yorkshire Dialect by Castillo, John

Only I forgat to make mention of Aunt Joyce.

From Joyce Morrell's Harvest The Annals of Selwick Hall by Holt, Emily Sarah

Nor then forgat brave Sthenelus his charge Received from Diomede, but his own steeds Detaining distant from the boisterous war,370 Stretch'd tight the reins, and hook'd them fast behind.

From The Iliad of Homer Translated into English Blank Verse by William Cowper by Cowper, William

But when Richard Cameron began to speak, I easily forgat everything else.

From The Men of the Moss-Hags Being a history of adventure taken from the papers of William Gordon of Earlstoun in Galloway by Crockett, S. R. (Samuel Rutherford)

The pop star said even though she worked with other producers over the years, she never forgot Orbit and "the magical time we spent together".

From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026

He makes it his personal mission that no one gets a parking ticket for street cleaning on our block, going up and down the block twice a week to remind anyone who forgot.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

"They can't be shoved to the back and forgot about. We'll do everything we can to make sure that doesn't happen."

From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026

“I forgot to get napkins so I just wiped my hand on the American flag behind me,” she wrote in a since-deleted 2019 social-media post.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026

“I thought I’d lose you. And then I forgot to ask if you like hugs.”

From "Bye Forever, I Guess" by Jodi Meadows

Working alongside a largely forgotten network of women, she arranged training, negotiated visa rules, raised funds and corresponded with colleagues in Berlin and Jerusalem—the practical education in politics that Mr. Meyer restores to view.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

His name is destined to become a rude punchline or be completely forgotten.

From Salon ● Aug. 7, 2026

The family added he will "never be forgotten".

From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026

The inspiring tale of a forgotten hero: In 1990, a single dad got fed up with the billboards for cigarettes targeting Chicago’s Black neighborhoods.

From Slate ● Jul. 31, 2026

At last, almost reluctantly it seemed to me, she approved the cheese, but the hat was forgotten.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

But giving this absolute unit a wide berth has become more challenging as his viral fame grows, because humans keep crowding Neil, getting dangerously close and perhaps forgetting that he is a wild animal.

From Salon ● Jul. 7, 2026

Setting and forgetting your student-loan payments could soon give you a big discount.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 18, 2026

But there is no forgetting the star of the show.

From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026

Instead of forgetting his sneakers or a racket at home, Klugo might mistakenly leave without his hearing aid’s batteries.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2026

“You’re forgetting we have a secret weapon,” he said.

From "Boy 2.0" by Tracey Baptiste

Related Words

• fail
• ignore
• neglect
• overlook
• skip