‘On The Tip of My Tongue’: Definition, Meaning and Examples

Has someone told you that something is ‘on the tip of my tongue’? Are you unsure of the meaning of this phrase? We’ll go over that in this article, plus teach you how to use the phrase in a sentence.

In short:

• ‘On the tip of my tongue’ means you’re trying to remember something, but it just won’t come to you at the moment.

Essentially, it’s used when someone can’t remember something they’re trying to remember but is just about to.

What Does ‘On the Tip of My Tongue’ Mean?

‘On the tip of my tongue’ is a common English phrase people use to describe something that they can’t quite remember but they might be on the verge of remembering. You might hear someone say it when they’re trying to remember something specifically, such as the name of a person, place, or thing.

If you’re having a conversation with someone and they’re trying to tell you about a restaurant they recently went to, but they can’t remember the name, they might say:

‘Oh, it’s on the tip of my tongue. What is it?’

In Finding Nemo, when Dory is trying to remember the answer to a joke posed by the Moonfish leader, she says:

‘Oh-oh-oh! It’s on the tip of my tongue.’

This means that she knows the answer, and she almost has it formed in her brain, but she doesn’t quite have it yet.

Where Does ‘On the Tip of My Tongue’ Come From? 

The phrase ‘on the tip of my tongue’ is a colloquial phrase that comes from the simple fact that we use our tongues regularly in speech.

Since the words flow out of our mouths and past our tongues, we say that something is ‘on the tip of the tongue,’ implying that we have something to say, but it won’t come out.

Some believe it comes from a psychological phenomenon called Tip of the Tongue (TOT), which psychologists define as:

• A feeling that accompanies the temporary inability to retrieve information from memory.

Examples of ‘On the Tip of My Tongue’ in Sentences 

How would you use ‘on the tip of my tongue’ in a sentence?

Let’s see some examples: 

• When the dean’s wife walked in, I tried like heck to remember her name. It was on the tip of my tongue, but I just couldn’t remember for the life of me.
• The minute I sat down to start my exam, my mind when blank. Every answer seemed to be just out of reach or on the tip of my tongue, but I could not quite get them to come out. I probably failed the biggest exam of the semester.
• Every time my grandma would tell a story, she’d forget some of the details. Then, she’d say, ‘Gosh, it’s on the tip of my tongue. What was that girl’s son’s name?’ The details were never important, but she thought they were, so we let her try to remember.
• I usually have trouble remembering people’s names. It’s usually on the tip of my tongue, but the names never come to me for some reason. I don’t know what it is.
• I went on a game show last week, and every answer seemed to be on the tip of my tongue, but I couldn’t get them out. It’s funny how you can easily shout out the answers when you’re at home staring at your TV, but when you’re in front of a live audience, everything changes.
• At trivia night, I got stumped on a question about Dwayne Johnson – The Rock! But he’s my favorite actor and former wrestler, so how could I have missed that? I read his book, for god’s sake! I’m so disappointed in myself.
• At book club, I struggled to remember what I wanted to say about our latest fiction selection, thanks to Tabitha’s long rant. It was on the tip of my tongue, but suddenly, it just slipped away.
• I can’t remember the name of the cop who was harassing me a few nights ago. It’s on the tip of my tongue, but I just cannot.

Other Ways to Say ‘On the Tip of My Tongue’

What are other ways to say ‘on the tip of my tongue’?

Let’s see some examples:

• I can’t remember
• I forget
• This is escaping me
• I’m blanking out
• My mind is going blank
• I can’t recall
• I can’t remember
• I almost have it
• I’m drawing a blank
• I’ve almost remembered
• I’ve nearly remembered
• I’ve almost got it
• It’s right there

Concluding Thoughts on ‘On the Tip of My Tongue’

To recap, we learned the following:

In short:

• ‘On the tip of my tongue’ means you’re trying to remember something, but it just won’t come to you at the moment.

Remember, it’s used when someone can’t remember something they’re trying to remember but is just about to.

If you ever get stuck on anything, you can always come back here to review what you learned. We’ve got a ton of content on idioms, and you might find it useful as you’re learning this complex language we call English. Don’t be afraid to check it out.