forget
Formsforgets, forgetting, forgot, forgotten
- 1To be unable to remember something once known, or to stop thinking about it and let it fade from mind.
Witnesses often forget important details within hours of an event.
She had forgotten his name by the time they met again.
UsagePast forgot, participle forgotten. Forget doing something means not remember doing it; forget to do it means fail to do it.
- 2To unintentionally fail to do something through neglect or oversight.
She forgot to submit the report before the deadline.
Employees sometimes forget to log their hours at the end of a shift.
UsageForget to do something means you did not do it: forgot to lock the door. Don't forget to call.
Oppositeremember
Note
In Lord Dunsany's The Gods of Pegāna (1905), the line "it may be that Slid will not forget to send thee Death" pairs this sense with a solemn, scriptural tone.
- 3To fail to realize or take into account something, whether or not one has ever known it.
Critics forget how limited the technology was at the time.
You forget that she has only been with the company a month.
UsageUsually with that or how: you forget that she is new, people forget how dangerous it is.
- 4To unintentionally leave something behind, especially by not remembering to bring it along.
He forgot his passport and had to turn back at the airport.
Travelers frequently forget phone chargers in hotel rooms.
UsageWith a place, leave is more usual: I left my keys at the office.
Similarleave
Oppositeremember
Less common meaning
- 5To angrily reject or dismiss someone or something, used in outbursts as a milder stand-in for screw.
Forget you! I never want to see you again.
He muttered "forget this" and stormed out of the meeting.
UsageMostly in short outbursts like Forget you! It is still rude, so avoid it at work or with strangers.
Note
This is a minced oath. Forget stands in for fuck or screw, keeping the shape of the insult while dropping the profanity.
Practice
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Origin
*fragetan, a Proto-West Germanic verb meaning "to give up, forget," became Old English forġietan ("to forget"), which felt the influence of Old Norse geta, meaning "to get, to guess," and that became Middle English forgeten. The word amounts to for- + get. Dutch vergeten and German vergessen are cognates.