memory

noun

Simple meaning

The mind's ability to recall past information or experiences

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

mehmeree

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice

IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈmɛmɚi

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

uncountable
The ability of the brain to record information or impressions with the facility of recalling them later, usually at will.
A record of a thing or an event stored and available for later use by the organism.
The time within which past events can be or are remembered.
“Search as he would, the memory was lost.”
computing
The part of a computer that stores variable executable code or data (RAM) or unalterable executable code or default data (ROM).
attributiveof a material
Which returns to its original shape when heated
Alternative letter-case form of memory ("pelmanism").

Word at a Glance

Difficulty: A1 · Beginner (estimated)
Frequency: Very Common
Typical Use: General English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: The time within which past events can be or are remembered.

Used this way, memory is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Heard in a sentence

“Search as he would, the memory was lost.”

Emotional tone: Neutral
Formality: Neutral
Intensity: Not strongly marked
How common: Common
Connotation: Matter-of-fact
Usage feel: Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use memory

“Search as he would, the memory was lost.”noun
“He can do it from memory.”noun
“He had a good memory when he was younger.”noun

Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

working memorymain memorycollective memorymemory lossmemory managementterm memorymemory location

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

memorialnounDerived noun
A recognition of meritorious service.
memorizeverbDerived verb
Commit to memory.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

memory accessnounCompound term
The operation of reading or writing stored information.
memory boardnounCompound term
An electronic memory device.
memory cachenounCompound term
RAM memory that is set aside as a specialized buffer storage that is continually updated.
memory chipnounCompound term
A RAM microchip that can be plugged into a computer to provide additional memory.
memory devicenounCompound term
A device that preserves information for retrieval.
memory imagenounCompound term
A mental image of something previously experienced.

Related Words

Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.