never mind

idiomatic phrase

—used to tell someone not to be concerned about or give attention to something or someone

Never mind your mistake: it wasn't serious.

So you made a little mistake! Never mind (about that): it wasn't serious.

'Well, it is a little awkward, for I have a business already,' said I. 'Oh, never mind about that, Mr. Wilson!' said Vincent Spaulding. 'I should be able to look after that for you.'—

Arthur Conan Doyle

He would tell Blossom that she might go back to her aunt and never mind about him—he would do very well by himself and he did not blame her in the least.—

Lucy Maud Montgomery

—used to say that something previously mentioned or asked can be disregarded

Do you know where my keys are? Oh, never mind. Here they are.

—used to refer to something that is even less likely or possible than something else being mentioned or described

I can barely understand it, never mind explain it.

With this knee I can hardly walk, never mind run.

Never mind mastering a second language or a subject syllabus, most us have enough difficulty remembering the orders for a round of drinks at the pub.—

David Robson

Examples of never mind in a Sentence

I have a hard enough time getting out of bed before sunrise, never mind getting to work so early.

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

So does that mean all that talk of retribution is never mind? —

ABC News, 19 Jan. 2025 Clough’s feats — promotion from the second tier, a league title and back-to-back European Cups in 1979 and 1980, as well as four League Cup wins — is the kind of story that is never likely to be matched again in football, never mind at the City Ground. —

Paul Taylor, The Athletic, 6 Jan. 2025 And never mind that the instrument had not been used even once in the first four years that Jahja Ling served as the symphony’s music director from 2004 to 2017. —

George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Jan. 2025 The Golden Boy 5 Tips for Keeping Your House Clean With Pets Indeed, keeping the house clean and tidy as a pet owner is a major task by itself, never mind with a hyperactive puppy around. —

Joseph Epstein, Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for never mind