experience
Americannoun
-
experiences
plural
-
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.
-
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
-
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
-
accumulated knowledge, esp of practical matters
a 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, etc
the American experience
-
-
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
-
the totality of a person's perceptions, feelings, and memories
-
verb
-
to participate in or undergo
-
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
-
experiencesimple
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experiencessimple
-
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
-
had experiencedperfect
-
was experiencingprogressive
-
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:
As an aspiring pilot, he said schools should not just provide work experience opportunities, but additional teaching on other aspects of adult life outside of work.
From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026
A 15-minute walk up the road from Jasmine's placement, near the centre of Newcastle, her classmate Param had his work experience at social housing group Re:Gen.
From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026
Speaking of which, ample Silicon Valley experience counsels skepticism about Anthropic’s plan to use some of its new fund for existing charities.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026
He describes himself as having years of experience in customer service and data entry, an open mind and the willingness to always lend a hand.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2026
They call it "sepsis," and they know from bitter experience how quickly a "septic" wound can go from slight redness to gross swelling to a fatal condition called gangrene.
From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman
"The female politicians who responded almost ubiquitously reported experiences of either unwanted approaches, persistent unwanted contact from people, or experiences of threats or of assault," she told AFP.
From Barron's ● Oct. 20, 2026
The singer has long been open about her health, sharing her experiences with lupus and speaking about her mental health.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2026
It’s easy to judge, but it’s better to listen and learn from other people’s experiences.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 19, 2026
Her report, called the Childhood Lottery, found that deprivation alone could not explain the differences in their experiences.
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026
In fact, looking back on it, Roosevelt believed that he never would have become president of the United States if it hadn’t been for his experiences in the Dakota Territory.
From "Death on the River of Doubt" by Samantha Seiple
In 2016 Clare experienced a tear which did not heal.
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026
“Malibu has experienced the serious impacts of powerful storms, including during El Niño years, so we know how serious they are,” said Mayor Bruce Silverstein in the emergency declaration.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2026
Michael Clarkson, a computer-science professor at Cornell University, said that the university experienced a roughly 15% decline in students declaring the major in the last year.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 19, 2026
"This is one of the worst tragedies the Canadian Armed Forces have experienced on Canadian soil in peacetime," he said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 18, 2026
Marina Raskova was less experienced as a pilot than as a navigator, and as the commander of the 587th Bomber Aviation Regiment, she too had to learn to fly this difficult plane.
From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein
Topping said people were experiencing climate change firsthand, with the effects of extreme weather being felt around the UK.
From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026
But it provides guidance for those experiencing the effects of betrayal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026
"After thinking carefully for several months and experiencing a few sleepless nights, as you can imagine, I've decided to separate from CNN," Amanpour, 68, said in a statement.
From Barron's ● Oct. 19, 2026
Yet he says neither side is lying, something that is “not confusing if you understand the trauma that native peoples are still experiencing to this day.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2026
Zach keeps talking about experiencing what could be called the “Truman Drama effect”: the sense of acclaim they feel only when they leave home.
From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
