if memory serves
idiom
variants
or if (my) memory serves me (correctly/right/rightly)
: if I remember accurately
The child's name was Rebecca Rose, if memory serves. She and her mother both died in the big influenza epidemic of 1918.—
Sue Grafton
Sue GraftonIt was on the third day, if my memory serves me right, that I saw the lad killed.—H. G. Wells
H. G. WellsHe stated with hesitation that "If my memory serves me correctly, his name was John."
Examples of if memory serves in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
How that's possible in Miami where, if memory serves, one parties in the city where the heat is on, all night, on the beach till the break of dawn, is beyond comprehension, but Diddy complies and turns his music down.
—Lester Fabian Brathwaite, EW.com, 2 Oct. 2023
In early 2004, Pitchfork put out a call for submissions, requiring prospective writers to list their top albums of the year and, if memory serves, a particular decade like the 1960s.
—Marc Hogan, Rolling Stone, 18 Jan. 2024
Also, if memory serves, Jo, Beth, and the other girls didn’t spend that much time on fluorescent Rollerblades.
—Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 20 July 2023
Then in the late 1970s, or early 1980s, if memory serves correct, cattle on a couple of the islands on the Aleutian chain had gone feral.
—Steve Meyer, Anchorage Daily News, 12 Dec. 2021
Though, if memory serves, their enchiladas turned out just fine.
—Beth Segal, cleveland, 23 Sep. 2021
And that population if memory serves, is far more liberal than the population at large.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 10 Feb. 2011
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Lester Fabian Brathwaite, EW.com, 2 Oct. 2023
In early 2004, Pitchfork put out a call for submissions, requiring prospective writers to list their top albums of the year and, if memory serves, a particular decade like the 1960s.
—Marc Hogan, Rolling Stone, 18 Jan. 2024
Also, if memory serves, Jo, Beth, and the other girls didn’t spend that much time on fluorescent Rollerblades.
—Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 20 July 2023
Then in the late 1970s, or early 1980s, if memory serves correct, cattle on a couple of the islands on the Aleutian chain had gone feral.
—Steve Meyer, Anchorage Daily News, 12 Dec. 2021
Though, if memory serves, their enchiladas turned out just fine.
—Beth Segal, cleveland, 23 Sep. 2021
And that population if memory serves, is far more liberal than the population at large.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 10 Feb. 2011
Dictionary Entries Near if memory serves
Cite this Entry
“If memory serves.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/if%20memory%20serves. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share