total recall

American  

noun

1. the ability to remember with complete, detailed accuracy.

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total recall British  

noun

1. psychol the faculty or an instance of complete and clear recall of every detail of something

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Etymology

Origin of total recall

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

While remarkable, RJ’s total recall doesn’t put him in the category of an autistic savant, the best-known of whom is a Hollywood creation.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 27, 2023

The total recall figure is almost equivalent to the 500,000 cars Tesla delivered last year, Reuters reports.

From BBC • Dec. 30, 2021

The movie tells the story of a world that has forgotten the Beatles ever existed but, in a twist of Lars von Trier-level cinematic bleakness, has total recall of James Corden.

From The Guardian • Feb. 14, 2019

Any world-class tennis player has total recall of the masterful drop shot she hit on set point, as well as the perfectly lined-up backhand she plowed into the net instead.

From Washington Post • Jul. 13, 2018

I have almost total recall, every face is there, every hill and tree and color, and sound of speech and small scenes ready to replay themselves in my memory.

From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck