forget

[fer-get] /fərˈgɛt/
verb (used with object), forgot or (Archaic) forgat; forgotten or forgot; forgetting.
1.
to cease or fail to remember; be unable to recall:
to forget someone's name.
2.
to omit or neglect unintentionally:
I forgot to shut the window before leaving.
3.
to leave behind unintentionally; neglect to take:
to forget one's keys.
4.
to omit mentioning; leave unnoticed.
5.
to fail to think of; take no note of.
6.
to neglect willfully; disregard or slight.
verb (used without object), forgot or (Archaic) forgat; forgotten or forgot; forgetting.
7.
to cease or omit to think of something.
Idioms
8.
forget oneself, to say or do something improper or unbefitting one's rank, position, or character.
Origin
before 900; for- + get; replacing Middle English foryeten, Old English forg(i)etan; cognate with Old Saxon fargetan, Old High German firgezzan
Related forms
forgettable, adjective
forgetter, noun
unforgetting, adjective
Usage note
Both forgot and forgotten are used as the past participle of forget: Many have already forgot (or forgotten) the hard times of the Depression. Only forgotten is used attributively: half-forgotten memories.
Examples from the web for forget
  • Indeed, the ability to forget is in some ways as important as the ability to remember.
  • He had to leave ignominiously from a side door-an end to his fourth government that he will not lightly forgive or forget.
  • Students leave some blank intending to go back and then forget or miss a question when they go back.
  • So the purpose of sleep may be to help us remember what's important, by letting us forget what's not.
  • Which is precisely why she begged me never to forget her, to remember that she had existed.
  • It's the gunk that collects on the sides of a fish tank when you forget to clean it.
  • We must never forget that it is our duty to protect this environment.
  • And if it's awful, you try to forget it as soon as possible.
  • forget going overseas to fulfill your fixer-upper farmhouse fantasies.
  • forget whitewater canoeing or scuba diving among sharks.
British Dictionary definitions for forget

forget

/fəˈɡɛt/
verb -gets, -getting, -got -gotten, (archaic, dialect) -got
1.
(when transitive, may take a clause as object or an infinitive) to fail to recall (someone or something once known); be unable to remember
2.
(transitive; may take a clause as object or an infinitive) to neglect, usually as the result of an unintentional error
3.
(transitive) to leave behind by mistake
4.
(transitive) to disregard intentionally
5.
(when transitive, may take a clause as object) to fail to mention
6.
forget oneself
  1. to act in an improper manner
  2. to be unselfish
  3. to be deep in thought
7.
forget it!, an exclamation of annoyed or forgiving dismissal of a matter or topic
Derived Forms
forgettable, adjective
forgetter, noun
Word Origin
Old English forgietan; related to Old Frisian forgeta, Old Saxon fargetan, Old High German firgezzan
Word Origin and History for forget
v.

Old English forgietan, from for-, used here with negative force, "away, amiss, opposite" + gietan "to grasp" (see get). To "un-get," hence "to lose" from the mind. A common Germanic construction (cf. Old Saxon fargetan, Old Frisian forjeta, Dutch vergeten, Old High German firgezzan, German vergessen "to forget"). The literal sense would be "to lose (one's) grip on," but that is not recorded in any Germanic language. Related: Forgetting; forgot; forgotten.

Idioms and Phrases with forget

forget

In addition to the idiom beginning with forget also see: forgive and forget