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

Apple's next product event is happening on September 9, and while the company hasn't technically dropped any hints about what's coming, anyone with a working memory and a sense of object permanence can tell you that an Apple event in the month of September means next-generation iPhones. —Andrew Cunningham, ArsTechnica, 5 Sep. 2025

This can in turn lead to poorer attention and working memory, which is the short-term memory needed to perform complex cognitive tasks and, ultimately, learn. —Angelica Mari, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2025

Maintaining focus itself depends on working memory's ability to sustain attention. —William Jones, USA Today, 27 Aug. 2025

Working extreme hours may change your brain: Working long hours may change the structure of your brain, including regions associated with emotional regulation and executive function—such as problem solving and working memory—new research shows. —Alex Backus, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 May 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