memo
noun
ˈme-(ˌ)mō 
plural memos
: a usually brief written message or report : memorandum
Use headlines, bullets, and lists to organize the memo and the proposal. 
Inc. Magazine
Inc. MagazineWhen your boss asks you to find a memo you wrote a year ago, it's hard to remember what you named it. Susan Kelley
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 ChronicleThe 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 DuncanYou'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 KeatingIt 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
Carrie DuncanYou'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 KeatingIt 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
Synonyms
- dispatch
- epistle
- letter
- memorandum
- missive
- note
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
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 Many of those who were supposed to get that memo apparently did not. Michael Stahl, Rolling Stone, 5 Sep. 2022 That memo refers only to a binder of information, however. Vivian Salama, WSJ, 21 Aug. 2022 Turns out that not everyone has gotten that memo, so to speak. Lance Eliot, Forbes, 8 Aug. 2022 If conservatives were going to retrench after this week's vote in Kansas, the governor of Florida did not get the memo. Rick Klein, ABC News, 5 Aug. 2022 But Lyonne steals the show as Merton, playing the lightning-fast turtle as a lascivious little old lady who didn’t get the memo that’s there’s no cursing in a kids’ movie. Thomas Floyd, Washington Post, 26 July 2022 If tiny homes and #vanlife are the way of the future, the stars of Selling Sunset did not get the memo. Emily Smith, EW.com, 9 July 2022 In an interview with National Review, Eastman was asked about his discussions with Lee regarding that memo. Bryan Schott, The Salt Lake Tribune, 9 June 2022 Signed onto that memo, as well, was the Solar Energy Industries Association, a national trade association representing solar companies. Kate Aronoff, The New Republic, 8 June 2022 See More
Michael Stahl, Rolling Stone, 5 Sep. 2022 That memo refers only to a binder of information, however. Vivian Salama, WSJ, 21 Aug. 2022 Turns out that not everyone has gotten that memo, so to speak. Lance Eliot, Forbes, 8 Aug. 2022 If conservatives were going to retrench after this week's vote in Kansas, the governor of Florida did not get the memo. Rick Klein, ABC News, 5 Aug. 2022 But Lyonne steals the show as Merton, playing the lightning-fast turtle as a lascivious little old lady who didn’t get the memo that’s there’s no cursing in a kids’ movie. Thomas Floyd, Washington Post, 26 July 2022 If tiny homes and #vanlife are the way of the future, the stars of Selling Sunset did not get the memo. Emily Smith, EW.com, 9 July 2022 In an interview with National Review, Eastman was asked about his discussions with Lee regarding that memo. Bryan Schott, The Salt Lake Tribune, 9 June 2022 Signed onto that memo, as well, was the Solar Energy Industries Association, a national trade association representing solar companies. Kate Aronoff, The New Republic, 8 June 2022 See More Word History
First Known Use
1705, in the meaning defined above
Phrases Containing memo
memos
noun
1
as in letters
a message on paper from one person or group to another a long series of memos between the two authors collaborating on the book Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- letters
- epistles
- notes
- memorandums
- memoranda
- missives
- dispatches
- mails
- reports
- cards
- postcards
- communications
- e-mails
- open letters
- postal cards
- encyclicals
- airmails
- electronic mails
- junk mails
- billets-doux
2
as in notes
a usually brief written reminder wrote a memo to herself about the upcoming meeting Synonyms & Similar Words
- notes
- memorandums
- memoranda
- notations
- jottings
- reports
- documents
- memoirs
- writings
- minutes
- protocols
- memorials
- lines
- bordereaux
3
as in memorandums
a written communication giving information or directions the visiting leader received a series of urgent memos from the country's ambassador prior to the summit Synonyms & Similar Words
- memorandums
- notices
- letters
- messages
- memoranda
- reports
- directives
- declarations
- mails
- notes
- proclamations
- announcements
- instructions
- pronouncements
- postings
- bulletins
- notifications
- orders
- dispatches
- releases
- rescripts
- edicts
- words
- missives
- jottings
- epistles
- commands
- encyclicals
- directions
- posts
- charges
- dictates
- pronunciamentoes
- pronunciamentos
