Word family noun forgetfulness adjective forgetful forgettable ≠ unforgettable verb forget adverb forgetfully unforgettably
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishforgetfor‧get /fəˈɡet $ fər-/ ●●● S1 W1 verb (past tense forgot /-ˈɡɒt $ -ˈɡɑːt/, past participle forgotten /-ˈɡɒtn $ -ˈɡɑːtn/) 1 facts/information [intransitive, transitive]FORGET to not remember facts, information, or people or things from the past I’m sorry, I’ve forgotten your name. I know you told me, but I forgot. What happened that day will never be forgotten.forget about Karl says he forgot about our date. She forgot all about their anniversary.forget (that) I forgot that there’s a speed limit here.forget how/what/when/why etc How can you forget where you’ve parked the car? He’s someone who never forgets a face (=forgets who someone is).I was forgetting ... (=said when you have just remembered or been reminded about something) spoken Oh yes, I was forgetting she was pregnant.2 something you must doFORGET [intransitive, transitive] to not remember to do something that you should do ‘Did you remember to post that letter?’ ‘Oh, sorry, I forgot.’ Give me your phone number before I forget (=forget to get it).forget to do something Someone’s forgotten to turn off their headlights.clean forget American English (=completely forget) He meant to invite Monica, but he clean forgot.3 leave something somewhere [transitive] to not remember to bring something that you need with youforget your keys/money/cigarettes etc Oh no, I’ve forgotten my wallet.4 stop thinking about [intransitive, transitive]FORGET to stop thinking or worrying about someone or something Forget him, he’s not worth it. At my age, I think I can forget fashion.forget (that) After a while you’ll forget you’re wearing contact lenses.forget about I’ll never be able to forget about the accident.5 not care about [intransitive, transitive]DON'T CARE to not care about or give attention to someone or something any longerforget about Don’t forget about your old friends when you go off to college, okay? You can’t afford to forget your relationship with your husband. 6 stop a plan [intransitive, transitive]STOP DOING something to stop planning to do something because it is no longer possible or sensibleforget about We’ll have to forget about going on holiday. If we can’t get any funding we might as well forget the whole thing.7 → not forgetting something8 → forget yourselfSPOKEN PHRASES9 → don’t forget10 → forget it11 → I’ll never forget something12 → aren’t you forgetting ...?/haven’t you forgotten ...?13 → I forget14 → and don’t you forget it!THESAURUSforget to not remember something or someoneI’m sorry, I’ve forgotten your name.It was an experience she would never forget.don’t remember/can’t remember used when saying that you have forgotten somethingI know I needed something at the shops, but I can’t remember what it was.have no recollection of something formal to not remember anything about something that happened in the pastHe told the jury that he had no recollection of the accident.slip your mind especially spoken if something that you must do slips your mind, you forget to do it because you are busy thinking about other thingsI’m sorry I didn’t call. There was so much going on that it completely slipped my mind.it goes in one ear and out the other spoken used to say that someone forgets what you tell them very quickly because they are not interested or do not listen properlyWith kids you have to say everything twice. It all goes in one ear and out the other.my mind goes blank especially spoken used to say that you are suddenly unable to remember something at a time when you need itI was so nervous that my mind went blank as soon as they asked me a question.to try to forget somethingforget to deliberately try not to think about something sad or unpleasantAfter the divorce came through, I just wanted to forget about it all.put something out of your mind to make yourself stop thinking about something that stops you concentrating or makes you angry, sad, or nervousWhen I’m competing I put everything out of my mind and concentrate on winning.put something behind you to stop thinking about something sad or unpleasant that happened to you in the past, so that you can continue with your life and be happyIt can take a long time to put a traumatic experience like that behind you.take/keep your mind off something to do something that helps you stop thinking about a problem for a short timeSara went out for a walk to try and take her mind off things.blot something out to forget an unpleasant memory or thought, by deliberately stopping yourself from thinking about it He started drinking heavily in an effort to blot out the thought of what he had done.I wanted to blot out the events of the previous day.shut somebody/something out to deliberately forget someone or something and not let them be part of your thoughts and feelingsThe marriage was a disaster, and her husband shut her out of his life completely. → See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
forget• I keep forgetting that you're allergic to chocolate.• It's his birthday tomorrow. I hope you haven't forgotten.• It was an experience she would never forget.• Back then, reporters and police were coming to the house for weeks, until people started to forget.• a war the country was trying to forget• I'd better put that on the calendar so I don't forget.• I've been trying not to think about her but my friends won't let me forget.• I completely forgot about the meeting.• I forgot all about tomorrow's exam.• But the fact is that girls, more often than boys, are told that they were forgotten and left behind.• If you don't finish your homework, you can forget going skiing this weekend.• I've forgotten her name.• "Why did Carol come back?" "She forgot her purse."• Michael was at the airport before he realized he'd forgotten his passport.• He examined the intercom again, but seemed to have forgotten how it worked.• But they forgot how time was-flying by, and suddenly Baba Yaga stood before them.• Let us not forget, however, that witchcraft is by no means the excuse for all mistakes and misadventures.• Her normally lucid style had slipped and she had forgotten huge chunks of the recent past.• Forget I mentioned it. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings.• If you're not going to take this project seriously we might as well forget it.• Don't let me forget my purse.• But I forgot that we are now in the era of the Leisure Jam.• Usually awakenings that last less than seven minutes will be forgotten the following day.• Look, we aren't making any progress - let's just forget the whole idea.• If we can't get any funding, we might as well forget the whole thing.• Don't forget to call your mom tomorrow.• Oh, I forgot your camera. Is it all right if I bring it to you tomorrow?• Don't forget your lunch - it's on the counter.forget how/what/when/why etc• She said we must both forget what had passed between us.• Easily bored he forgets what he has known, he pretends to forget.• They never forget what it felt like to be fat.• It lets me forget how miserable my life is.• I had forgotten how old I was until the accursed Purves and Noakes popped up to remind me.• I think I forgot how to enjoy myself.• Joseph is so often overlooked, or forgotten when we look upon the scene of the nativity.clean forget• Not only that, but she had been so upset, she had clean forgotten to plug Galactic Outbursts.• I clean forgot to put them in!• The people, it appeared, had clean forgotten what war meant.forget your keys/money/cigarettes etc• I had forgotten my cigarettes again, left them in the living room.forget (that)• School boards get so busy negotiating contracts and avoiding layoffs that they forget about the quality of their schools.• Otherwise she might think I had forgotten her.• Ralph lowered his legs; the jump seat popped right back vertical as though it had already forgotten him.• He seemed to have forgotten Madeleine because he never once spoke of her in front of me.• I've forgotten my troubles; now I want to climb just for the good performance itself.• We must not forget that, at least in modern bodies like our own, the cells are a clone.• There she could sit by her husband's side among the beer-drinkers, and forget that the children existed.• That night, soldiers forgot their dead comrades, and their fox-trot partners forgot they would soon be alone again.forget the whole thing• Dionne had ordered her to go out and forget the whole thing.• He would simply dash off a note that made no reference to the incident and forget the whole thing.• Next day, he had forgotten the whole thing.• Now why don't you just forget the whole thing?• Would they shake hands and agree to forget the whole thing were he to do so?Origin forget Old English forgietan 