memorize

memorize — verb

1. to put information, words, or actions into your memory by studying or repeating

1.verbtransitiveB1
Definition

to put information, words, or actions into your memory by studying or repeating them until you know them perfectly

Example

Feng memorized his acceptance speech so he could look at the audience while talking.

memorize + noun phrase (a speech / a text)

All fifty American state names were memorized by the class for the geography quiz.

passive: be memorized by [person/group]

Common collocations
  • memorize a poem / a speech / a script / a song
  • memorize facts / dates / names / figures
  • memorize a password / a phone number / a PIN
  • memorize lines (in a play)
Synonyms
Antonyms
  • forget

    the opposite process — losing what was in memory

Grammar Patterns

memorize + noun phrase

Usage Note

The object of 'memorize' is always what you learn by heart (a speech, a song, a list of facts), not the source you learn from (a book, a website, a teacher). To talk about the source, use 'learn from' or 'study'.

Common Mistakes

I need to remember these words for the test tomorrow.
I need to memorize these words for the test tomorrow.
'remember' means to keep something in mind that you already know; 'memorize' means to put something into your memory for the first time through study.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

All four words relate to gaining or holding knowledge, but they differ in scope and purpose. 'Memorize' is the narrowest: it means to fix exact information in your mind through repetition (e.g. a phone number, a poem). 'Remember' is the ability to recall something already in your memory ('I remember her name') — it does not describe the act of putting it there. 'Learn' is much broader: you can learn a skill (to swim), a subject (history), or facts, and learning usually involves understanding, not just rote repetition. 'Study' is the deliberate activity of reading, practicing, or reviewing material to learn it. You study for an exam; you memorize key dates for the history section. In short: you study a subject so that you can learn it, and you memorize specific items so that you can remember them exactly.

memorize ↗remember ↗learn ↗study ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Memorize comes from the Latin word 'memor' (meaning mindful or remembering). It passed into English through French in the 1500s, originally as 'memorisen'. The '-ize' ending marks it as a verb meaning 'to make something a part of your memory'.