remember

American  

[ri-mem-ber] / rɪˈmɛm bər /

verb (used with object)

• remembers,
  present (3rd person singular)
• remembered,
  past participle,  past
• remembering
  present participle

1. to recall to the mind by an act or effort of memory; think of again.

   I'll try to remember the exact date.

   Antonyms:

   forget

2. to retain in the memory; keep in mind; remain aware of.

   Remember your appointment with the dentist.

   Antonyms:

   forget

3. to have (something) come into the mind again.

   I just remembered that it's your birthday today.

4. to bear (a person) in mind as deserving a gift, reward, or fee.

   The company always remembers us at Christmas.

5. to give a tip, donation, or gift to.

   to remember someone in need.

6. to mention (a person) to another as sending kindly greetings.

   Remember me to your family.

7. (of an appliance, computer, etc.) to perform (a programmed activity) at a later time or according to a preset schedule.

   The coffeepot remembers to start the coffee at 7 a.m. every day.

8. Archaic. to remind.

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verb (used without object)

• remembers,
  present (3rd person singular)
• remembered,
  past participle,  past
• remembering
  present participle

1. to possess or exercise the faculty of memory.

2. to have recollection (sometimes followed byof ).

   The old man remembers of his youth.

remember British  

/ rɪˈmɛmbə /

verb

1. to become aware of (something forgotten) again; bring back to one's consciousness; recall

2. to retain (an idea, intention, etc) in one's conscious mind

   to remember Pythagoras' theorem

   remember to do one's shopping

3. (tr) to give money, etc, to (someone), as in a will or in tipping

4. to mention (a person's name) to another person, as by way of greeting or friendship

   remember me to your mother

5. (tr) to mention (a person) favourably, as in prayer

6. (tr) to commemorate (a person, event, etc)

   to remember the dead of the wars

7. to recover one's good manners after a lapse; stop behaving badly

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Synonym Usage

Remember, recall, recollect refer to bringing back before the conscious mind things which exist in the memory. Remember implies that a thing exists in the memory, though not actually present in the thoughts at the moment: to remember the days of one's childhood. Recall implies a voluntary effort, though not a great one: to recall the words of a song. Recollect implies an earnest voluntary effort to remember some definite, desired fact or thing: I cannot recollect the exact circumstances.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• rememberer
  noun
• rememberable
  adjective
• unremembered
  adjective
• unremembering
  adjective
• well-remembered
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• remembering
  present
• remembered
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• remember
  simple
• remembers
  simple
• have remembered
  perfect
• has remembered
  perfect
• am remembering
  progressive
• are remembering
  progressive
• is remembering
  progressive
• have been remembering
  perfect progressive
• has been remembering
  perfect progressive

Past

• remembered
  simple
• had remembered
  perfect
• was remembering
  progressive
• were remembering
  progressive
• had been remembering
  perfect progressive

Future

• will remember
  simple
• will have remembered
  perfect
• will be remembering
  progressive
• will have been remembering
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of remember

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English remembren, from Old French remembrer, from Late Latin rememorārī, equivalent to re- re- + Latin memor “mindful” ( see memory) + -ārī infinitive suffix

Explanation

To remember is to recollect, or to call upon your memory. Remember that time you fell out of your tree house and bonked your head? No? Go figure. There are many shades of meaning of remember, but at its core it refers to the act of recalling or thinking back. You can remember something fondly, like your first kiss, or you might remember something suddenly, like when the smell of tar brings back the time your bicycle wheel got caught in a pot hole and you fell off. To remember someone means you show appreciation, like when the Oscar winners try to remember all those names.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

remember remembers remembered remembering

Some removed their hats and bowed their heads and took a brief moment of silence to remember their colleagues.

From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026

Sitting in the driver’s seat at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport, I tried to remember how to make these cars go.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026

But the punt play folks will remember was the 84-yard return for a touchdown by San Francisco’s Jacob Cowing, who blew past Scott and the rest of the coverage team.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

Even if you aren’t old enough to remember the heyday of Columbia House, you’re probably familiar with the scam at its center.

From Salon ● Aug. 21, 2026

Clare was usually fast asleep by now, moss stuffed in his good ear, and he could not remember the last time he’d soaked in the splendor of All Hallows’ Eve.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman

Emily Tom, a UC Irvine Ph.D. student and physician-scientist in training in Skowronska-Krawczyk's laboratory, remembers the moment one of those preserved eyes arrived.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 23, 2026

One director remembers visiting an older foundry as a child and being scared of the dark and noise.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

She remembers swapping a polished City environment, where there was always someone else to call for help, for having to do almost everything herself.

From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026

Sunday remembers how she and Jenkins started, then ended up close.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026

What's even better is that she remembers you from the afternoon of the crime.

From "From the Desk of Zoe Washington" by Janae Marks

Santino Ferrucci, the driver for AJ Foyt Racing, remembered coming to Washington, D.C., for the first time during his 8th grade field trip.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026

In the parking lot, you remembered the question you meant to ask.

From Slate ● Aug. 22, 2026

Instead, Iamaleava is remembered for his tumultuous exit from Knoxville, a parting characterized by head coach Josh Heupel that the program would move on without its starting signal-caller, leading the Long Beach product to UCLA.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026

You have to wonder how the Generals’ unwelcome win would be remembered if it had hurt the Globetrotters’ gate receipts.

From Salon ● Aug. 19, 2026

Luckily, she remembered she had her phone on her this time and called Dad.

From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler

And lately, simply remembering what we bought is beginning to look almost quaint.

From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026

"I think athletes need to be remembering it needs to be something that works for them," the 24-year-old says.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

But it’s worth remembering that Congress consistently kicks the can down the road until it has no choice but to act, and that’s likely to be true in this case as well.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 6, 2026

We wanted to show Cuba because it’s remembering our dad.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026

Some little boy is thinking about a fender bender his mom was in, and remembering it makes him scared all over again.

From "Clairboyance" by Kristiana Kahakauwila

Related Words

• commemorate
• get
• learn
• look back
• recall
• recognize
• relive
• remind