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
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use learn in a sentence
Completing career and technical education is almost always faster and less expensive than studying toward a bachelor’s degree, however, and trainees can earn while they learn.
More people with bachelor’s degrees go back to school to learn skilled trades | Jon Marcus | November 20, 2020 | Washington PostIt was around the time he dropped out that he learned of a new video game called “League of Legends.”
In East Devon, she learned to hunt with her father and his British Army friends, who taught young Rose to creep through the grass like a soldier.
‘The Woman Who Stole Vermeer’ revisits the strange tale of a British heiress who became a notorious art thief | Katharine Weber | November 20, 2020 | Washington PostThat was after some small affiliates learned of their fate via social media.
Nationals have a new Class AAA affiliate in Rochester Red Wings | Jesse Dougherty | November 19, 2020 | Washington PostWolf said he hopes to learn through discovery how many other women were misled by Kiken.
Woman sues after learning ‘anonymous’ sperm donor was her own fertility doctor | Rachel Weiner | November 19, 2020 | Washington Post
German and Spanish were scarcely ever taught; indeed, the former was regarded as quite outside the list of learnable tongues.
It Might Have Been | Emily Sarah Holt
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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