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• lear
  lear

  noun

  learning; instruction; lesson.
• Lear
  Lear

  noun

  Edward, 1812–88, English writer of humorous verse and landscape painter.

lear

¹ American  

[leer] / lɪər /

noun

Scot. and North England.

1. learning; instruction; lesson.

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Lear ² American  

[leer] / lɪər /

noun

1. Edward, 1812–88, English writer of humorous verse and landscape painter.

2. (italics) King Lear.

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Lear British  

/ lɪə /

noun

1. Edward. 1812–88, English humorist and painter, noted for his illustrated nonsense poems and limericks

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Etymology

Origin of lear

1350–1400; late Middle English lere lesson, noun use of lere to teach, Old English lǣran; cognate with Dutch leren, German lehren, Gothic laisjan; akin to lore ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

lear Lear

O I will sing to you a sang, Will grieve your heart full sair; How the Clerk's twa sons o' Owsenford Have to learn some unco lear.

From English and Scottish Ballads, Volume II (of 8) by Various

Now Dickie of Dryhope led that band, And the nevir a word o’ lear had he.

From Ballads of Scottish Tradition and Romance Popular Ballads of the Olden Times - Third Series by Frank Sidgwick

And aye the stound is birkin lear  Where sconnered yowies wheepen yestreen.

From The Humorous Poetry of the English Language; from Chaucer to Saxe by James Parton

The constant practice of our profession is the surest road to "lear" or affluence.

From The Proverbs of Scotland by Alexander Hislop

Morones grunted, "He went out to get acquainted with the country and didn't come back." lear masked his close scrutiny of the factor under his idle and expressionless gaze.

From Astounding Stories, June, 1931 by Various

“She came in my office, started to read the lines, and forget it,” Lear said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026

The English actor was also known for his collaboration with Dame Judi Dench and her husband, Michael Williams, and they starred in several stage productions together, including King Lear.

From BBC ● May 11, 2026

Palantir’s stock trades at 108 times forward earnings expectations, compared with 63 times expected earnings for Centrus Energy, about 14 times for Lennar and about 8 times for Lear, according to FactSet.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 16, 2026

Richard has enjoyed a brilliant Broadway career, attacked a critic who didn’t like his Lear, and has to retreat to his small hometown of Millersburg, Pa., to try to repair his life.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 27, 2026

While tentbound high on Everest, Mallory and his companions would read aloud to one another from Hamlet and King Lear.

From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer