plural memos
: a usually brief written message or report : memorandum
Use headlines, bullets, and lists to organize the memo and the proposal.Inc. Magazine
When your boss asks you to find a memo you wrote a year ago, it's hard to remember what you named it.Susan Kelley
Phrases
get the memo
informal + often humorous
: to hear about or become aware of something generally known
typically used in negative constructions to point to someone's surprising lack of awareness, to say that something did not happen as expected, etc.
Officials often warn tourists not to enter the water, but several tourists searching for that perfect Instagram photo apparently did not get the memo.The San Francisco Chronicle
The calendar may say only five more days until fall, but mother nature did not get the memo. It is going to be hot and feel even hotter over the next couple of days.Carrie Duncan
You're not still wearing those acid-washed jeans, are you? Tube socks and shorts? … OK, so no one told you. You didn't get the memo. Those things went out with neckties the size of small landing strips.Christine Keating
It was expected to be a five-set test of endurance … But, Edberg apparently did not get the memo because he just dominated Courier and captured his first- ever U.S. Open title with a straight set triumph at the National Tennis Center in New York.Van Earl Wright

Examples of memo in a Sentence

He sent a memo to the staff. a long series of memos between the two authors collaborating on the book
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
The memo was sent out by the human resources executive from USAGM on Saturday morning. Filip Timotija, The Hill, 15 Mar. 2025 Tin’s attorney, Harris, said in a sentencing memo that his client agreed to receive box turtles that would be shipped illegally from New York and New Jersey to his home in Hong Kong. Brittny Mejia, Los Angeles Times, 15 Mar. 2025 Days after the memo was sent, an uprising at Collins Correctional Facility injured three officers as inmates took control of several dorms. Peter Cordi, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 14 Mar. 2025 The memo is being challenged in federal lawsuits from the nation’s two largest teachers’ unions. Collin Binkley, Baltimore Sun, 14 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for memo

Word History

First Known Use

1705, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of memo was in 1705

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Cite this Entry

“Memo.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/memo. Accessed 23 Mar. 2025.

Kids Definition

memo

noun
plural memos

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