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

• 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

Wirtz in the No 10 role has already raised questions about who assumes the responsibility of doing some of Salah’s running, never mind what happens in a two-forward system. —Andy Jones, New York Times, 2 Aug. 2025

Menstrual cycles might confound the results, researchers worried—never mind that the approximately half of the population who have them might be interested in how the shifts influence their health. —Cindy Kuzma, SELF, 31 July 2025

And so many people accepted whatever erosion of rights these deportations meant in exchange for the perception of living in safer communities — never mind that the reality is that most of those now trapped in that Salvadoran prison are not violent criminals. —Anita Chabria, Los Angeles Times, 25 June 2025

Even on this small scale, getting on the ballot will be a tough task, never mind actually winning. —Jon Allsop, New Yorker, 11 July 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