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

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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

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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

“You should remember you only get attention as a company if you matter,” Ostrover said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026

I remember when the news first broke about that, someone said, “Well, I wonder if that’s Alex kind of trolling Musk back.”

From Salon ● Oct. 16, 2026

"We stand with them in their sorrow and will remember Hyron with great affection and respect."

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

Using these brief snapshots, the researchers tested whether patterns of brain activity could predict two different outcomes: how emotionally intense participants found a picture and whether they would remember that picture the following day.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026

I don’t remember ever hearing her sing that,” I admit.

From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold

As the Dodgers’ postseason hype video declared before the game: “October doesn’t remember who came close. It remembers who triumphs.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

One immediate task was how to manage the company’s debt load, and he remembers how Kate studied a chart of the debt maturities.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

We paint our current selves onto the kids we grew up with, so the bookworm remembers a childhood crowded with library lovers, and today’s teenagers are contrasted with classmates who never existed.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

"I was once in a room of accountants, and one of them stood up and said, 'My clients come to me for the personal touch, the human process'," he remembers.

From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026

“Who remembers the cold comfort of that open hearth before we built a new school with its patented front-loader chunk stove with isinglass winders?”

From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck

Pavlov’s Dog also remembered its vocalist for his “profoundly poetic spirit and a romantic heart that found its way into every note, every lyric and every performance.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

Instead, its benefits appear to be selective, making experiences that feel particularly intense or meaningful more likely to be remembered.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026

She remembered a time when Arab and Muslim New Yorkers struggled to find elected officials willing to acknowledge their experiences at all.

From Slate ● Oct. 15, 2026

After downing Atletico in the first of the three-peat, they beat Juventus and then Liverpool - the latter remembered for Gareth Bale's cameo, Loris Karius' blunders and Sergio Ramos leaving his mark on Mo Salah.

From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026

The first run took seventeen days and fourteen hours and it can be remembered best in days.

From "Woodsong" by Gary Paulsen

We all have our ways of remembering times tables.

From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026

This enchantment was captured by a 24-year-old Virginia Woolf, who visited an English fen and its surroundings in 1906, and described the area as a “strange, gray-green, undulating, dreaming, philosophizing and remembering land.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

The researchers also note that food frequency questionnaires rely on participants accurately remembering what they ate, which can introduce recall bias.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 1, 2026

And when you’re talking about third places, it’s worth remembering we’ve systematically defunded after-school programs, orchestras, art programs, senior centers.

From Slate ● Sep. 29, 2026

Her image was in his mind, as clear as life sometimes, and he smiled with wistful tenderness, remembering her ways.

From "Abel's Island" by William Steig

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Related Words

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

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