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memory

Pronunciation: /ˈmɛm(ə)ri/

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Definition of memory

noun (plural memories)

  • 1the faculty by which the mind stores and remembers information:I’ve a great memory for faces [mass noun]:the brain regions responsible for memory
  • the mind regarded as a store of things remembered:he searched his memory frantically for an answer
  • 2something remembered from the past:one of my earliest memories is of sitting on his knee [mass noun]:the mind can bury all memory of traumatic abuse
  • [mass noun] the remembering or commemoration of a dead person:clubs devoted to the memory of Sherlock Holmes
  • [mass noun] the length of time over which a person or event continues to be remembered:the worst slump in recent memory
  • 3the part of a computer in which data or program instructions can be stored for retrieval.
  • [mass noun] a computer’s capacity for storing information:the module provides 16Mb of memory

Phrases

from memory

without reading or referring to notes:each child was required to recite a verse from memory

in memory of

intended to honour and remind people of (a dead person): a prayer in memory of the deceased

take a trip (or walk) down memory lane

indulge in pleasant or sentimental memories.

Origin:

Middle English: from Old French memorie, from Latin memoria, from memor 'mindful, remembering'

memory in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of memory in the US English dictionary

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