experience

American  

[ik-speer-ee-uhns] / ɪkˈspɪər i əns /

noun

1. a particular instance of personally encountering or undergoing something.

   My encounter with the bear in the woods was a frightening experience.

2. the process or fact of personally observing, encountering, or undergoing something.

   business experience.

3. the observing, encountering, or undergoing of things generally as they occur in the course of time.

   to learn from experience; the range of human experience.

4. knowledge or practical wisdom gained from what one has observed, encountered, or undergone.

   a man of experience.

5. Philosophy. the totality of the cognitions given by perception; all that is perceived, understood, and remembered.

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verb (used with object)

experienced, experiencing

1. to have experience of; meet with; undergo; feel.

   to experience nausea.

   Synonyms:

   suffer, endure, brook, bear

2. to learn by experience.

idioms

1. experience religion, to undergo a spiritual conversion by which one gains or regains faith in God.

experience British  

/ ɪkˈspɪərɪəns /

noun

1. direct personal participation or observation; actual knowledge or contact

   experience of prison life

2. a particular incident, feeling, etc, that a person has undergone

   an experience to remember

3. accumulated knowledge, esp of practical matters

   a man of experience

4. 1. the totality of characteristics, both past and present, that make up the particular quality of a person, place, or people

   2. the impact made on an individual by the culture of a people, nation, etc

      the American experience

5. philosophy

   1. the content of a perception regarded as independent of whether the apparent object actually exists Compare sense datum

   2. the faculty by which a person acquires knowledge of contingent facts about the world, as contrasted with reason

   3. the totality of a person's perceptions, feelings, and memories

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verb

1. to participate in or undergo

2. to be emotionally or aesthetically moved by; feel

   to experience beauty

Usage

What is another way to say experience? To experience something is to meet with it or feel it firsthand. How is experience different from undergo? Find out on Thesaurus.com. 

Other Word Forms

• experienceable adjective
• experienceless adjective
• postexperience adjective
• preexperience noun
• reexperience verb

Etymology

Origin of experience

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, Middle French, from Latin experientia, equivalent to experient- (stem of experiēns, past participle of experīrī “to try, test”; ex- ¹, peril ) + -ia noun suffix; -ence

Example Sentences

Building longer-range missiles that can work reliably is complicated owing to the stresses they experience in flight.

From The Wall Street Journal

In a March 4 letter to Bianco, the attorney general cited Bianco’s plan to use sheriff’s department staffers, “who are not trained and have no experience,” to count the ballots.

From Los Angeles Times

American actor Mac, 48, described commentating on Wrexham's game against Swansea as the "most rewarding professional experience of my entire life".

From BBC

The trajectory was familiar to many moviegoers from their experience in legitimate organizations, when the success of the 1920s gave way to the job losses and suffering of the Great Depression.

From The Wall Street Journal

Instead of building champions through traditional recruitment, the 73-year-old Pitino has assembled his roster by raiding rival schools—and foreign professional teams—to load his roster with experience.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• acquaintance
• background
• exposure
• familiarity
• intimacy
• involvement
• know-how
• knowledge
• participation
• practice
• understanding