/ ˈmenʃn; NAmE / verb , noun
■ verb
mention sth/sb (to sb) to write or speak about sth/sb, especially without giving much information :
[ vn ]
Nobody mentioned anything to me about it.
Sorry, I won't mention it again.
Now that you mention it , she did seem to be in a strange mood.
His name has been mentioned as a future MP.
[ v wh- ]
Did she mention where she was going?
[ v that ]
You mentioned in your letter that you might be moving abroad.
He failed to mention that he was the one who started the fight.
[also v -ing ]
—see also above-mentioned , aforementioned
•
IDIOMS
- don't mention it
- not to mention
■ noun
[ U , C , usually sing. ] an act of referring to sb/sth in speech or writing :
He made no mention of her work.
The concert didn't even get a mention in the newspapers.
Richard deserves (a) special mention for all the help he gave us.
••
SYNONYMS
mention
refer to ♦ cite ♦ quote ♦ allude to
These words all mean to write or speak about sb/sth, often in order to give an example or prove sth.
mention
to write or speak about sth/sb, especially without giving much information:
Nobody mentioned anything to me about it.
refer to sb/sth
( rather formal ) to mention or speak about sb / sth:
I promised not to refer to the matter again.
cite
( formal ) to mention sth as a reason or an example, or in order to support what you are saying:
He cited his heavy workload as the reason for his breakdown.
quote
to mention an example of sth to support what you are saying:
Can you quote me an instance of when this happened?
cite or quote?
You can cite reasons or examples, but you can only quote examples: He quoted his heavy workload as the reason for his breakdown. Cite is a more formal word than quote and is often used in more formal situations, for example in descriptions of legal cases.
allude to sb/sth
( formal ) to mention sth in an indirect way:
The problem had been alluded to briefly in earlier discussions.
PATTERNS AND COLLOCATIONS :
to mention / refer to / cite / quote / allude to sb/sth as sb/sth
commonly / frequently / often mentioned / referred to / cited / quoted / alluded to
to mention / refer to / allude to sb/sth briefly / casually / in passing
the example mentioned / referred to / cited / quoted / alluded to above / earlier / previously
to mention / refer to / cite / quote a(n) example / instance / case of sth
••
WORD ORIGIN
Middle English (originally in make mention of ): via Old French from Latin mentio(n-) ; related to mind .