experience

[ ik-speer-ee-uhns ]

/ ɪkˈspɪər i əns /

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See synonyms for: experience / experienced / experiences / experiencing on Thesaurus.com

noun

a particular instance of personally encountering or undergoing something: My encounter with the bear in the woods was a frightening experience.

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.

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

verb (used with object), ex·pe·ri·enced, ex·pe·ri·enc·ing.

to have experience of; meet with; undergo; feel: to experience nausea.

to learn by experience.

OTHER WORDS FOR experience

6 bear, brook, endure, suffer.

See synonyms for experience on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Idioms about experience

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

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

OTHER WORDS FROM experience

ex·pe·ri·ence·a·ble, adjectiveex·pe·ri·ence·less, adjectivepost·ex·pe·ri·ence, adjectivepre·ex·pe·ri·ence, noun, verb (used with object), pre·ex·pe·ri·enced, pre·ex·pe·ri·enc·ing.

re·ex·pe·ri·ence, verb, re·ex·pe·ri·enced, re·ex·pe·ri·enc·ing.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use experience in a sentence

Both Ney and Abramoff have reentered the public spotlight following their sentences, writing books about their experiences.
Abramoff’s Advice for Virginia’s New Jailhouse Guv|Tim Mak, Jackie Kucinich|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
I had enough experiences around languages that it just sort of happened.
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness|Marlow Stern|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Was there something linked to something a little more universal as far as experiences are concerned?
Patton Oswalt on Fighting Conservatives With Satire|William O’Connor|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
His later books drew heavily from experiences and people he encountered at the bar, including the cruel captain in The Sea-Wolf.
The Bars That Made America Great|Nina Strochlic|December 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Her experiences are recorded in a prison diary in which she has visions that have significance for the whole community.
First Anglican Woman Bishop A Return to Christian Roots|Candida Moss|December 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It was piteous to see how in these intervals his delusions were always shaped by the bitterest experiences of his life.
Ramona|Helen Hunt Jackson
Out of manifold experiences in the tragical annals of mankind came the terrible Ahriman.
Solomon and Solomonic Literature|Moncure Daniel Conway
His knowledge of the East was extraordinary, and later, when the ladies had retired, he related many curious experiences.
Uncanny Tales|Various
Her memory reverted to experiences that had made her feel as much older than the ordinary girl as she now felt at sea.
Ancestors|Gertrude Atherton
After a certain number of experiences the child learns the appearance of a square.
Assimilative Memory|Marcus Dwight Larrowe (AKA Prof. A. Loisette)

British Dictionary definitions for experience

experience

/ (ɪkˈspɪərɪəns) /

noun

direct personal participation or observation; actual knowledge or contactexperience of prison life

a particular incident, feeling, etc, that a person has undergonean experience to remember

accumulated knowledge, esp of practical mattersa man of experience

the totality of characteristics, both past and present, that make up the particular quality of a person, place, or people
the impact made on an individual by the culture of a people, nation, etcthe American experience

philosophy

the content of a perception regarded as independent of whether the apparent object actually existsCompare sense datum
the faculty by which a person acquires knowledge of contingent facts about the world, as contrasted with reason
the totality of a person's perceptions, feelings, and memories

verb (tr)

to participate in or undergo

to be emotionally or aesthetically moved by; feelto experience beauty

Derived forms of experience

experienceable, adjective

Word Origin for experience

C14: from Latin experientia, from experīrī to prove; related to Latin perīculum peril

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

experience

OTHER WORDS FOR experience

Idioms about experience

Origin of experience

OTHER WORDS FROM experience

Words related to experience

How to use experience in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for experience

Derived forms of experience

Word Origin for experience