working memory

noun

: memory that involves storing, focusing attention on, and manipulating information for a relatively short period of time (such as a few seconds)

A simple activity involving working memory is the carry-over operation in mental arithmetic, which requires temporarily storing a string of numbers and holding the sum of one addition in mind while calculating the next.

—Patricia S. Goldman-Rakic

Your short-term memory might help you to remember what someone has just said to you, for example, but your working memory would allow you to recite it to them backwards or pick out the first letter of each word.

—Jonathan K. Foster

compare long-term memory, short-term memory

Examples of working memory in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Meanwhile, habitual daytime light exposure – consistent across the seven days – was tied to faster reaction times on the vigilance task and fewer errors in the tests measuring working memory and visual search skills. —New Atlas, 17 Jan. 2026

This has been one of the warmest Colorado winters in my working memory, and it's been a real challenge. —Spencer Wilson, CBS News, 22 Dec. 2025

Another study from 2022 reported that chores significantly predicted stronger executive functioning in children, including better working memory and self-control. —Daniella Gray, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Dec. 2025

For the home optimizer, this means limiting working memory to a single week’s run. —Keivan Navaie, IEEE Spectrum, 22 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1980, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for working memory

• emery

Medical Definition

working memory

noun

: memory that involves storing, focusing attention on, and manipulating information for a relatively short period of time (such as a few seconds)

A simple activity involving working memory is the carry-over operation in mental arithmetic, which requires temporarily storing a string of numbers and holding the sum of one addition in mind while calculating the next.

—Patricia S. Goldman-Rakic, Scientific American

Your short-term memory might help you to remember what someone has just said to you, for example, but your working memory would allow you to recite it to them backwards or pick out the first letter of each word.

—Jonathan K. Foster, New Scientist