to jog your memory

Meaning

1. 1phraseidiom

   To help someone remember something by giving a small hint or reminder.

   Grammar: Often used as 'jog someone's memory' or 'jog your memory'; the possessive changes with the person.

   Patterns

   • jog someone's memory
   • jog your memory
   • to jog someone's memory

   Let me show you a photo to jog your memory about that day.

   The detective described the scene to jog the witness's memory.

   I wrote a note on my hand to jog my memory during the test.

Common combinations

jog someone's memory

Can you jog my memory about where we met?

to jog your memory

Here's a list to jog your memory.

help jog someone's memory

The smell of coffee helped jog her memory.

try to jog someone's memory

He tried to jog my memory with old stories.

Synonyms and how they differ

remind

More direct; you remind someone of a fact, while jogging someone's memory is gentler and often uses a hint.

prompt

Often used in formal or technical contexts, like a computer prompt or a teacher's prompt; less warm than jog someone's memory.

Commonly confused: to jog your memory or jog?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “to jog your memory”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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