learn
to acquire knowledge of or skill in by study, instruction, or experience: to learn French;to learn to ski.
to become informed of or acquainted with; ascertain: to learn the truth.
to memorize: He learned the poem so he could recite it at the dinner.
to gain (a habit, mannerism, etc.) by experience, exposure to example, or the like; acquire: She learned patience from her father.
(of a device or machine, especially a computer) to perform an analogue of human learning with artificial intelligence.
Nonstandard. to instruct in; teach.
to acquire knowledge or skill: to learn rapidly.
to become informed (usually followed by of): to learn of an accident.
Origin of learn
1Other words from learn
- learn·a·ble, adjective
- mis·learn, verb, mis·learned or mis·learnt, mis·learn·ing.
- outlearn, verb (used with object), out·learned or out·learnt, out·learn·ing.
- re·learn, verb, re·learned or re·learnt, re·learn·ing.
Words that may be confused with learn
- learn , teach
Words Nearby learn
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use learn in a sentence
Human beings tend to learn more from mistakes than successes, they say, and this year, we are learning a ton.
The losses continue to pile up for hedge fund king Ray Dalio | Bernhard Warner | September 15, 2020 | FortuneIf you are interested in learning more—for yourself or your executives—please go here, or shoot me a note.
Announcing Fortune Connect, our new membership community | Alan Murray | September 15, 2020 | FortuneThe plan was simple—meet Bill McShae in rural Pennsylvania and learn how to trap star-nosed moles.
How to hunt for star-nosed moles (and their holes) | Kenneth Catania | September 15, 2020 | Popular-ScienceI awoke to learn that more than 1,800 buildings were reduced to ashes, less than 35 miles from where I slept.
Climate Change Will Force a New American Migration | by Abrahm Lustgarten, photography by Meridith Kohut | September 15, 2020 | ProPublicaThey were not without merit, though, because with each rejection she learned a little more.
‘How I Built This’ host Guy Raz on insights from some of the world’s most famous entrepreneurs | Rachel King | September 15, 2020 | Fortune
That officer fretting about his “stance,” we learn, is plagued by PTSD that cripples him both on the job and at home.
'Babylon' Review: The Dumb Lives of Trigger-Happy Cops | Melissa Leon | January 9, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTIf nobody on the outside will send Teresa money, should she learn a prison hustle?
How a ‘Real Housewife’ Survives Prison: ‘I Don’t See [Teresa Giudice] Having a Cakewalk Here’ | Michael Howard | January 6, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTSuch errors are important because generations of young students now learn American history through film.
Dr. King Goes to Hollywood: The Flawed History of ‘Selma’ | Gary May | January 2, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTIn his preface, Solomon suggests that other movements can learn from this one.
The Real Story Behind the Fight for Marriage Equality | E.J. Graff | December 30, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTHe returned home to learn that his 9-year-old son had been awakened in the night by a terrible dream.
Choking Back Tears, Thousands of Cops Honor Fallen Officer Ramos | Michael Daly | December 28, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIt may be fifty or a hundred centuries since men, although they were fully grown up, still went on trying to learn.
The Salvaging Of Civilisation | H. G. (Herbert George) WellsSince we are to learn by thinking we must at the outset learn the definition of the three Laws of Thinking.
Assimilative Memory | Marcus Dwight Larrowe (AKA Prof. A. Loisette)If one has thoughts to express, it is possible to learn very soon some method of construction.
The Homesteader | Oscar MicheauxIf they had only been able to learn from the licentiate Alcaraz, who was experienced and very prudent!
When, however, you learn by rote you know the task as you learned it, and not in the reverse way.
Assimilative Memory | Marcus Dwight Larrowe (AKA Prof. A. Loisette)
British Dictionary definitions for learn
/ (lɜːn) /
(when tr, may take a clause as object) to gain knowledge of (something) or acquire skill in (some art or practice)
(tr) to commit to memory
(tr) to gain by experience, example, etc
(intr; often foll by of or about) to become informed; know
not standard to teach
Origin of learn
1Derived forms of learn
- learnable, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with learn
In addition to the idioms beginning with learn
- learn by heart
- learn one's lesson
- learn to live with
also see:
- by heart, learn
- little knowledge (learning) is a dangerous thing
- live and learn
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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