experience
Americannoun
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experiences
plural
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a particular instance of personally encountering or undergoing something.
My encounter with the bear in the woods was a frightening experience.
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the process or fact of personally observing, encountering, or undergoing something.
business experience.
-
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.
-
knowledge or practical wisdom gained from what one has observed, encountered, or undergone.
a man of experience.
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Philosophy. the totality of the cognitions given by perception; all that is perceived, understood, and remembered.
verb (used with object)
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experiences,
present (3rd person singular)
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experienced,
past participle, past
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experiencing
present participle
idioms
noun
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direct personal participation or observation; actual knowledge or contact
experience of prison life
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a particular incident, feeling, etc, that a person has undergone
an experience to remember
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accumulated knowledge, esp of practical matters
a man of experience
-
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the totality of characteristics, both past and present, that make up the particular quality of a person, place, or people
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the impact made on an individual by the culture of a people, nation, etc
the American experience
-
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philosophy
-
the content of a perception regarded as independent of whether the apparent object actually exists Compare sense datum
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the faculty by which a person acquires knowledge of contingent facts about the world, as contrasted with reason
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the totality of a person's perceptions, feelings, and memories
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verb
-
to participate in or undergo
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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
Derived Forms
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preexperiencenoun
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reexperienceverb
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experienceableadjective
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experiencelessadjective
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postexperienceadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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experiencesimple
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experiencessimple
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have experiencedperfect
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has experiencedperfect
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am experiencingprogressive
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are experiencingprogressive
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is experiencingprogressive
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have been experiencingperfect progressive
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has been experiencingperfect progressive
Past
-
experiencedsimple
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had experiencedperfect
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was experiencingprogressive
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were experiencingprogressive
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had been experiencingperfect progressive
Future
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.
Vocabulary lists containing experience
"Seventh Grade" by Gary Soto
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Michelle Obama's Speech at the 2016 DNC
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Schooled
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"I've never done a home champs before so to have the crowd shout 'Abbie Donnelly' was an incredible experience."
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
She thinks the experience will be similar to the days when the area was explored using canoes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
Conducted from 1979 through the 2000s, the project followed more than 5,000 people to better understand why certain ethnic populations experience higher health risks.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026
If Meta did enact such changes, it would mark a significant alteration to the experience of its platforms.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
It was an experience common to most childhoods, though new to Penelope—that of drifting off to sleep as her parents spoke quietly in another room, trying not to be overheard.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
When it does, Brook will have a better understanding of what it means to be captain because of his experiences of the past year.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
Indonesia experiences frequent earthquakes due to its location in the Pacific "Ring of Fire", an arc of intense seismic activity stretching from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
D’Amaro is no stranger to the D23 stage; in his past role as parks chief, he would give updates on the latest news for the experiences division.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026
Instead he creates drama or a crisis, arouses a counterforce, attacks this new enemy, experiences fear—will my luck hold?—defeats the new enemy, feels relief, relaxes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
These were the experiences that my gymnastics friends who were already in college were always telling me about on Snapchat and Instagram.
From "Courage to Soar" by Simone Biles
"It brought back the fear, anxiety, and despair we experienced at the height of war," she said, requesting anonymity for security concerns.
From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026
Researchers found that people who had been taking digoxin and then had to stop experienced significantly more problems during the first six weeks compared with people who had never taken the drug.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026
"He has experienced what he described as a campaign against him, for the last three years," he told BBC News.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
Corey Seemiller told me every generation tends to romanticize the version of young adulthood it experienced while quietly forgetting the parts that weren’t so glamorous.
From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026
The ship is not overcrowded, and we don’t suffer from the seasickness and fear we experienced on the way to Naples.
From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar
"With this change, this rebirth we are experiencing as a country...it's a different atmosphere, more peaceful, more enjoyable, and with greater freedom of expression," said Sosa.
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
McDonald’s and Wendy’s are redoubling their efforts and rethinking their promotional deals after experiencing disappointing results.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
The Navy has acknowledged mental health cases but disputed reports that the ship is experiencing a broader crisis.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
That group could even include several athletes who received grants from her nonprofit Stronger Than You Think, which helps provide prosthetics to girls and women experiencing limb loss.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
When Bobby was experiencing severe pain in his legs, Skulason began to massage them, using the back of his hand.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
