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memory

memory

628 2.8
Ability to store and remember information, experiences, and skills
  • noun
  • /ˈmɛməri/
translation icon : memoria
  • As he aged, he noticed that his memory wasn't as reliable as it used to be.
  • working memory
  • short-term memory
  • attention and memory

And he stands up, delivers his poem from memory, walks out the door.

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Examples

  • My memory is clear.

  • After studying all night, his memory of the material was sharp during the exam.

  • And so I had this sort of memory in my mind.

  • Can I take it back to a memory that I have with you?

  • I will do a little quick review of what memory I have left.

  • Might it have to do with our loss of memory, with our heart function?

  • You still have no memory of that night?

  • What I know about myself comes from the limited memory of a New York City girl.

    Academic text (2011)
  • In all of those cases, memory is the key element.

  • All these traumas came back in my memory during this conversation.

Synonyms

recollection
vsmemory
116 3.8

A memory of something from the past or the act of remembering it

is a general mental ability not just an individual recalled event
remembrance
vsmemory
14 3.9

The ability to remember people, events, or information

is a general mental capacity that also covers learning and storage
retention
vsmemory
11 4.6

Ability to remember information or past events

is the overall mental function that creates and accesses those stored facts
remembering
vsmemory
1 1.0

Thinking about events or experiences from the past

is wider, covering both the act of recall and long term storage
retentiveness
vsmemory
6.8

How well a person remembers facts or past events

is the broader mental process of storing, recalling, and using knowledge
retentivity
vsmemory
  • Specialized
8.6

The ability to remember and keep information or past experiences

is the full system that includes both storing and retrieving skills

Antonyms

11 3.5

A habit of not remembering things like names or keys

Idioms

down memory lane
  • Informal
23 6.5

Remembering happy or important times from the past

18 3.7

To remember someone who has died

During the time people can still remember

Help someone remember something they forgot

1 3.3

Using what you remember without reading or looking

During the time people alive now can remember

To remember many things easily and correctly

8.2

To forget things very quickly, especially names or small details

Compounds

40 3.4

A problem when a person cannot remember information or past experiences

short-term memory
  • Specialized
22 3.9

The ability to remember things for a short time

12 3.5

A time in the recent past that people have lived through

The ability to remember pictures, names, and facts in exact detail

8 3.9

A place in your mind or on a computer where information is kept

long-term memory
  • Specialized
7 3.7

The part of the brain that keeps information for a long time

A skill that lets you do a movement without thinking after much practice

A time that people alive now can remember

computer memory
  • Specialized
3 2.8

A part of a computer that stores data and instructions for the processor

flash memory
  • Specialized
3 4.2

An electronic chip that stores data even when the power is off

working memory
  • Specialized
3 4.4

The mind holds and uses information for a short time to solve problems

memory chip
  • Specialized
3 3.6

An electronic part inside a computer that stores data like RAM

An event from a person's life that they can remember

A happy time from when you were a child that you still think about with joy

1 3.8

Long-term help and housing for people with memory loss like dementia

A thing that stores information like files or photos so you can use it later

declarative memory
  • Specialized
1 5.8

Ability to remember facts and personal events when you try

episodic memory
  • Specialized
1 6.3

The ability to remember specific events from your own life with their details

1 8.3

A group of tiny magnetic rings used in old computers to store data

memory access
  • Specialized
1 3.7

The act of reading from or writing to a computer's memory

memory chip
  • Specialized
1 4.4

An electronic device put in the brain that records and plays back a person's past events or feelings

1 5.3

A picture you remember from a past event

memory board
  • Specialized
1 3.8

A small computer part that holds chips that store data

memory cache
  • Specialized
1 4.8

A small, fast part of a computer that stores often used data to make access quicker

The skill of remembering and recognizing tunes and musical sounds

random access memory
  • Specialized
1 3.7

A fast place in a computer where programs keep data while the computer runs

read-only memory
  • Specialized
1 4.4

A small computer chip that holds information you can use but cannot change

screen memory
  • Specialized
1 9.4

A childhood memory that hides a more painful real memory

virtual memory
  • Specialized
1 4.2

The computer uses part of its hard disk as extra memory when RAM is full

A CD for computers that holds data you cannot change

computer memory unit
  • Specialized
3.5

A standard size used to measure computer memory, like a byte or kilobyte

Learning something so you remember it exactly

core memory
  • Archaic
8.1

An old kind of computer storage that uses small magnetic rings to hold data

A very important thing someone remembers that shapes who they are and their choices

drum memory
  • Archaic
9.9

An early computer storage device using a rotating metal cylinder covered with magnetic material to hold data

A chip you clear with ultraviolet light and then write new information on it

episodic memory
  • Specialized
6.5

A computer system in AI that records past events so a program can learn and plan

local memory
  • Specialized
5.6

A fast place inside one processor that a program can use directly

A device that stores information as tiny magnetic areas on a thin layer, used in older computers

9.9

An old machine used in tests that shows items one by one so people can try to remember them

memory image
  • Specialized
6.8

A complete copy of the information in a computer's active memory saved as a file

memory loss
  • Specialized
4.4

When a computer system or program forgets what it learned after training on new data

A clear image in your mind of a past event

memory trace
  • Specialized
7.8

A change in brain cells that keeps information about an experience

memory trace
  • Specialized
6.7

A recorded list of a computer program's memory use to help find errors

motor memory
  • Specialized
4.2

A skill that lets you do movements learned by practice without thinking

immediate memory
  • Specialized
4.1

The ability to remember something right after you see or hear it

random memory
  • Specialized
5.7

A part of a computer that stores data for a short time while it runs

random-access memory
  • Specialized
3.8

Space inside a computer where programs keep data while running and that is lost when the computer turns off

read-only memory chip
  • Specialized
3.7

A small computer chip that stores data you cannot change

read/write memory
  • Specialized
4.2

A part of a computer that stores data for a short time the system can read and change while running

reconstructive memory
  • Specialized
8.9

When you remember an event, the mind fills missing details with guesses

reproductive memory
  • Specialized
8.4

A way of remembering that makes an exact copy of the original experience

semantic memory
  • Specialized
5.8

Knowledge of words and facts not about your own life

wormwood memory
  • Literature
9.9

A bitter, painful thought about the past

How Strong

memory
628 2.8

Surface Forms

memory singular
memories plural

Etymology

Memory comes from the Latin root memor, meaning 'mindful' or 'remembering', and you can see this in the everyday word remember. So memory means the mental ability to store and bring back information.