Meaning & use

memorize

verb·Everyday

To learn something so thoroughly that it can be recalled exactly from memory.

See it in a sentence

The actor had to memorize nearly forty pages of dialogue before opening night.

Students memorized the multiplication tables by repeating them aloud every morning.

A note on using this word

Memorize focuses on exact recall of words or facts, while 'understand' or 'learn' can involve grasping meaning without exact repetition.

Words with a similar meaning

learn by heartcommit to memory

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Words with an opposite meaning

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