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.

---

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

---

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

“The last thing someone who’s crafted a beautiful score wants is some rock star to come in and sing all over the top of it,” said Cave, himself an experienced film composer.

From Los Angeles Times

That may well mean that the Steelers will soon experience something as unfamiliar as a new coach: a losing season.

From The Wall Street Journal

But Gustav’s hair raises when the journalist asks him whether the film will have a theatrical release, given Netflix’s disdain for the classic cinematic experience.

From Salon

Adams drew on his experience as a bank teller and manager at a phone company Pacific Bell for inspiration, skewering corporate jargon and middle management.

From Salon

The case comes at a difficult time for Pride organisations which say they are experiencing a drop in financial support and volunteers meaning several events were cancelled or scaled down in 2025.

From BBC

Related Words

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