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short-term memory

short-term memory

22 3.9
The ability to remember things for a short time
  • noun
  • /ˈʃɔrtˌtɜrm ˈmɛməri/
  • Specialized
translation icon : memoria a corto plazo
  • Short-term memory allows us to hold onto information briefly, like remembering a phone number just long enough to dial it.
  • verbal short-term memory
  • short-term memory deficit
  • short-term memory capacity

Like having a limited but measurable amount of short term memory about what you were recently thinking.

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Examples

  • Like having a limited but measurable amount of short term memory about what you were recently thinking.

  • Other than suffering from short-term memory loss, doctors have given Miss Stevenson a clean bill of health.

  • And so that right there is one of the best models for short term memory in the brain.

  • And it seemed like my short term memory was just gone for a period of time.

  • Now, this is what's happening so far in short term memory, how much you hold in there.

  • He suffered short term memory loss, but he kept his head.

  • So we have short term memory and this is for information that we need to hold onto or rehearse for immediate use.

  • A few studies have found that smelling rosemary can improve your short term memory.

  • The learning of the basic multiplication facts is initially a short-term memory process.

    Academic text (1990)
  • The results from the memory tests confirmed severe short-term memory deficits.

    Academic text (2006)

Synonyms

STM
vsshort-term memory
  • Specialized
1 6.1

The small amount of information you can hold in your mind for a short time

is the full phrase instead of the abbreviated label
immediate memory
vsshort-term memory
  • Specialized
4.1

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

holds information for a brief period of seconds rather than only instantly

Antonyms

long-term memory
  • Specialized
7 3.7

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

How Long

long-term memory
  • Specialized
7 3.7
short-term memory
  • Specialized
22 3.9

Surface Forms

Morphology

short-term + memory

The meaning 'ability to remember information for a brief period' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'short-term' (lasting a short duration) with 'memory' (the capacity to store and retrieve information). This adjective+noun composition follows standard, cross-linguistically common compounding patterns in English, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

The term short-term memory gives a simple picture: imagine a small shelf that holds ideas for a short term before they fall off. That's why it means the ability to 'remember for a short time'.