never mind

idiomatic phrase

1

—used to tell someone not to be concerned about or give attention to something or someone

Never mind your mistake: it wasn't serious.

So you made a little mistake! Never mind (about that): it wasn't serious.

'Well, it is a little awkward, for I have a business already,' said I. 'Oh, never mind about that, Mr. Wilson!' said Vincent Spaulding. 'I should be able to look after that for you.'

—Arthur Conan Doyle

He would tell Blossom that she might go back to her aunt and never mind about him—he would do very well by himself and he did not blame her in the least.

—Lucy Maud Montgomery

2

—used to say that something previously mentioned or asked can be disregarded

Do you know where my keys are? Oh, never mind. Here they are.

3

—used to refer to something that is even less likely or possible than something else being mentioned or described

I can barely understand it, never mind explain it.

With this knee I can hardly walk, never mind run.

Never mind mastering a second language or a subject syllabus, most us have enough difficulty remembering the orders for a round of drinks at the pub.

—David Robson

Synonyms of never mind

• not to mention

Examples of never mind in a Sentence

I have a hard enough time getting out of bed before sunrise, never mind getting to work so early.

Recent Examples on the Web

Brady was not supposed to be a major college starter, never mind an NFL starter. —Ian O'Connor, New York Times, 6 Dec. 2025

Look Who’s Talking, but never mind. —Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 1 Dec. 2025

Quinn’s got a Super Bowl appearance back with the Falcons in 2016 under his belt — never mind what actually happened in that Super Bowl — and a renaissance season in Washington last year. —Luca Evans, Denver Post, 29 Nov. 2025

Musk then talked shareholders into a deal that has the potential to hand him the equivalent of the company’s current total revenues — never mind profits! —Jeremy Lott, The Washington Examiner, 14 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1677, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for never mind

• countersigned
• disinclined
• humankind
• interlined
• intertwined
• mastermind
• misaligned
• nonaligned
• predefined
• realigned
• reassigned
• recombined