Remembered For: Standard Pattern
Remembered For: Standard Pattern records a directly documented English construction and keeps guidance bounded to the evidenced pattern rather than turning one attested complement into a universal prohibition.
Use “remembered for” to identify the thing, action, or achievement for which someone or something remains known.
Key details
Choose the right form
| Meaning / situation | Form / construction | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| identify the quality, act, or achievement that keeps someone/something known | be remembered for + noun/-ing | Use “for” to introduce what the reputation or memory rests on. |
| identify who/what is doing the remembering | be remembered by + person/group | Use “by” for the rememberer, not for the reason. |
| simply recall a fact or event | remember + object/clause | Use the ordinary verb sense rather than the reputation pattern. |
Quick tests
Meaning / construction test
Are you naming the reason someone or something remains known?
If yes: Use “remembered for.”
If no: If you are naming the people who remember, use “remembered by”; otherwise choose the construction that matches the intended sense.
Examples
The scientist is remembered for her careful field notes.
“For” introduces the quality or achievement associated with the memory.
The town is remembered for hosting the annual fair.
An -ing clause can name the activity for which a place is remembered.
He is remembered by colleagues for his patience.
“By” names the rememberers; “for” names the reason.
Further guidance
Construction
Use “remembered for” to identify the thing, action, or achievement for which someone or something remains known.
Style Boundary
The documented idiom concerns being known for something from the past; “remember” has other senses and complement patterns that are outside this page.
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
- Remember — Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (opens in a new tab)Oxford University Press · Direct dictionary idiom evidence for “be (best) remembered for something”