out of sight, out of mind

Register · Neutral Neutral — appropriate in most situations, both spoken and written, without sounding too casual or too stiff. CEFR B1

Post

Figurative meaning

things not seen are soon forgotten

Why this phrase?

A proverb: what the eye cannot see, the mind stops thinking about.

Example

“The files got archived and — out of sight, out of mind — nobody touched them again.”

Dictionary details

Tags

Expressions connected by reviewed component words or topic tags.

better late than never Neutral · CEFR A2

Doing something after a delay is better than not doing it at all.

actions speak louder than words Neutral · CEFR B1

What you do matters more than what you say.

bear in mind Neutral · CEFR B1

to remember and consider something when making a decision

come to mind Neutral · CEFR B1

to appear in one's thoughts or memory

don't judge a book by its cover Neutral · CEFR B1

appearances can be misleading, so assess things properly

every cloud has a silver lining Neutral · CEFR B1

Every difficult situation has some hopeful or positive aspect.

Source methodology

Meanings, register, CEFR, and examples come from the reviewed dictionary record. Expression notes may describe a reviewed present-day word picture or a background note; they are not presented as verified etymology.

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