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remember

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

8 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

Wiktionary

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "remember", 8-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "remember" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "remember" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

remember is aEnglishverb. It means: To recall from one's memory; to have an image in one's memory. Pronounced /ɹɪˈmɛmbɚ/. It ranks #417 in English word frequency. Often confused with remembered.

Key facts for remember
PropertyValue
Headwordremember
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ɹɪˈmɛmbɚ/
Letters8
Frequency rank#417
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of remember in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for remember is 8 letters long, classified as averb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɹɪˈmɛmbɚ/. Corpus data places it at rank #417 in overall English word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language.Wiktionary records 9 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 12 documented wrong-spelling variants for remember, with forms such as "ermember", "reemmber", and "remebmer". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "remembered", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English remembren, from Old French remembrer (“to remember”), from Late Latin rememorari (“to remember again”), from re- + memor (“mindful”), from Proto-Indo-European *mer-, *(s)mer- (“to think about, be mindful, remember”). Cognate with Old Eng… Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is remember, spelled R-E-M-E-M-B-E-R, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    To recall from one's memory; to have an image in one's memory.
  2. 2
    To memorize; to put something into memory.
  3. 3
    To keep in mind; to be mindful of.
  4. 4
    To not forget (to do something required)
  5. 5
    To convey greetings from.
  6. 6
    To put in mind; to remind (also used reflexively).
  7. 7
    To engage in the process of recalling memories.
  8. 8
    To give (a person) money as a token of appreciation of past service or friendship.
  9. 9
    To commemorate, to have a remembrance ceremony.

Etymology

From Middle English remembren, from Old French remembrer (“to remember”), from Late Latin rememorari (“to remember again”), from re- + memor (“mindful”), from Proto-Indo-European *mer-, *(s)mer- (“to think about, be mindful, remember”). Cognate with Old English mimorian, mymerian (“to remember, commemorate”), Old English māmorian (“to deliberate, plan out, design”). More at mammer. etymology note The success of the Old French word was helped by its proximity in sound and meaning to an existing Germanic word: Old English mimorian, mymerian (“to remember, commemorate”) from Proto-Germanic *mimrōną, *mīmrōną (“to remember, be mindful”), from the same Indo-European source, and is akin to Saterland Frisian miemerje (“to ponder, reflect”), Middle Low German mimeren (“to ponder, meditate”), Middle Dutch mimeren (“to reflect, think to oneself”) (Dutch mijmeren (“to muse, reflect deeply”)), Old English ġemimor (“mindful”), Old Norse Mímir, Mim (“Norse god of memory”), Old English māmrian (“to think out, design”). Related to mourn. Displaced native Middle English ȝemuneȝen (“to remember”), from Old English ġemynegian (“to remember, remind”); Middle English minnen (“to remember, have in mind”), from Old Norse minna (“to remind”); Middle English munden, ȝemunden (“to bear in mind, remember”), from Old English ġemynd (“memory, remembrance”); Middle English ithenchen, ȝethenchen (“to think on, remember”), from Old English ġeþencan; Middle English manien (“to remind, mention, remember”), from Old English manian (“to admonish, remind, mention”).

Synonyms

Antonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ermember,reemmber,remebmer,remembber,rememberr,remembre,rememebr,rememmber,remmeber,remmember,rmeember,rremember

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for remember

Misspelling Variants of "remember"

ermember8reemmber8remebmer8remembber9rememberr9remembre8rememebr8rememmber9
Misspelling Variants of "remember"

Frequency rank: #417 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "remember"?
"remember" is spelled R-E-M-E-M-B-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ɹɪˈmɛmbɚ/.
What does "remember" mean?
As a verb, "remember" means: To recall from one's memory; to have an image in one's memory.
What words are commonly confused with "remember"?
"remember" is commonly confused with "remembered". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "remember"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "remember" is /ɹɪˈmɛmbɚ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "remember"?
From Middle English remembren, from Old French remembrer (“to remember”), from Late Latin rememorari (“to remember again”), from re- + memor (“mindful”), from Proto-Indo-European *mer-, *(s)mer- (“to think about, be mindful, remember”). Cognate wi... See the full etymology section above for more details.
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Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter R in our English index:

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.