Semantic memory is one of the two types of
declarative or
explicit memory (our memory of facts or events that is explicitly stored and retrieved). Semantic memory refers to general world
knowledge that we have accumulated throughout our lives. This
general knowledge (facts, ideas, meaning and concepts) is intertwined in experience and dependent on
culture. Semantic memory is distinct from
episodic memory, which is our memory of experiences and specific events that occur during our lives, from which we can recreate at any given point. For instance, semantic memory might contain information about what a cat is, whereas episodic memory might contain a specific memory of petting a particular cat. We can learn about new concepts by applying our knowledge learned from things in the past. The counterpart to declarative, or explicit memory, is
procedural memory, or
implicit memory.