memory

 
Pronunciation: /ˈmɛm(ə)ri/

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'