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”; see ex- ¹, peril) + -ia noun suffix; see -ence

Explanation

If you experience something, you go through an unusual or exciting event. If you're experiencing the world's loopiest roller coaster, you'd better hope that the amusement park doesn't experience a power outage. Sometimes experience means accumulated knowledge and sometimes it refers to a single spectacular event. If you have experience in cooking, you have worked in a restaurant before. Learning by experience is a method of acquiring knowledge by doing and not by reading. On the other hand, when you come back from summer camp, your mom will want to hear about your experiences. And white-water rafting is quite an unforgettable experience.

Example Sentences

This mission is to provide a more genuine reflection of Asian American experience — community members speaking directly to fellow community members.

From Los Angeles Times • May 20, 2026

With the unseasonable warmth expected to continue into Tuesday and beyond, more parts of England and Wales could experience a heatwave after the bank holiday weekend.

From BBC • May 20, 2026

Voters with some college experience and those making less than $40,000 annually reported the same sentiment in similar percentages.

From Salon • May 20, 2026

Patients with vitamin D deficiency were three times more likely to experience moderate to severe pain during the first 24 hours after surgery compared with patients who had adequate vitamin D levels.

From Science Daily • May 20, 2026

The Incorrigibles had personal experience being covered by bedsheets while pretending to be ghosties, so it was all one big man-in-the-moon costume to them.

From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood

Related Words

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