forget

A1 Topic:Mind & Cognition

Also spelled forgit and forgits

US /fɚˈɡɛt/ UK /fəˈɡɛt/ See IPA manual

Freq #382

Meanings

1

verb
To not be able to remember something.

I have forgotten most of what I learned at school.
2

verb
To fail to do something you meant to do.

I forgot to buy milk on the way home.
3

verb
To leave something behind by accident.

I forgot my keys in the living room.
4

verb
To stop thinking about something or put it out of your mind.

Let's just forget the whole argument.

Verb forms

forget, forgot, forgotten irregular verb

Thesaurus

Synonyms

disrememberobliviateoverlook

Opposites

acquire learn mind recall recollect remember reminisce

Word family

Derived forms foggetaboutitforget-me-notforgetful forgetnessforgettabilityforgettableforgettanceforgetterforgetteryset-and-forgetun-forgetunforgettable

Related forms memory recollection

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

forget a birthday
to fail to remember or acknowledge someone's birthday

Verb + noun

Proverbs (8)

See all

Etymology

From Middle English forgeten, forgiten, foryeten, forȝiten, from Old English forġietan (“to forget”) [influenced by Old Norse geta ("to get, to guess")], from Proto-West Germanic *fragetan (“to give up, forget”). Equivalent to for- + get. Cognate with : * Scots forget, forȝet (“to forget”), * West Frisian fergette, ferjitte, forjitte (“to forget”), * Dutch vergeten (“to forget”), * German vergessen (“to forget”).

*gʰed- Proto-Indo-European forgeten Middle English forġietan Old English *fragetan Proto-West Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Mind & Cognition

External links

# forget

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A1
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /fɚˈɡɛt/
**IPA (UK):** /fəˈɡɛt/
**Frequency rank:** 382

## Meanings
1. To not be able to remember something.
2. To fail to do something you meant to do.
3. To leave something behind by accident.
4. To stop thinking about something or put it out of your mind.

## Examples
- I have forgotten most of what I learned at school.
- I forgot to buy milk on the way home.
- I forgot my keys in the living room.
- Let's just forget the whole argument.

## Synonyms
- disremember
- obliviate
- overlook

## Antonyms
- acquire
- learn
- mind
- recall
- recollect
- remember
- reminisce

## Derived Forms
- foggetaboutit
- forget-me-not
- forgetful
- forgetness
- forgettability
- forgettable
- forgettance
- forgetter
- forgettery
- set-and-forget
- un-forget
- unforgettable

## Related Forms
- memory
- recollection

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *gʰed-
- Root: forgeten
- Root: forġietan
- Root: *fragetan

## Etymology
From Middle English forgeten, forgiten, foryeten, forȝiten, from Old English forġietan (“to forget”) [influenced by Old Norse geta ("to get, to guess")], from Proto-West Germanic *fragetan (“to give up, forget”). Equivalent to for- + get. Cognate with : * Scots forget, forȝet (“to forget”), * West Frisian fergette, ferjitte, forjitte (“to forget”), * Dutch vergeten (“to forget”), * German vergessen (“to forget”).

## AI Etymology
Forget comes from Middle English forgeten, forgiten, foryeten, forȝiten, from Old English forġietan (“to forget”) [influenced by Old Norse geta ("to get, to guess")], from Proto-West Germanic *fragetan (“to give up, forget”). Equivalent to for- + get. Cognate with: Scots forget, forȝet (“to forget”),; West Frisian fergette, ferjitte, forjitte (“to forget”),; Dutch vergeten (“to forget”),; German vergessen (“to forget”). In current use, the main senses are “To not be able to remember something” and “To fail to do something you meant to do”.

## Topics
- Mind & Cognition

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