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learn

[lurn]
verb (used with object), learned [lurnd] /lɜrnd/ or learnt, learn·ing.
  1. to acquire knowledge of or skill in by study, instruction, or experience: to learn French; to learn to ski.
  2. to become informed of or acquainted with; ascertain: to learn the truth.
  3. to memorize: He learned the poem so he could recite it at the dinner.
  4. to gain (a habit, mannerism, etc.) by experience, exposure to example, or the like; acquire: She learned patience from her father.
  5. (of a device or machine, especially a computer) to perform an analogue of human learning with artificial intelligence.
  6. Nonstandard. to instruct in; teach.
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verb (used without object), learned [lurnd] /lɜrnd/ or learnt, learn·ing.
  1. to acquire knowledge or skill: to learn rapidly.
  2. to become informed (usually followed by of): to learn of an accident.
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Origin of learn

before 900; Middle English lernen, Old English leornian to learn, read, ponder (cognate with German lernen); akin to lesan to glean (cognate with German lesen to read). See lear
Related formslearn·a·ble, adjectivemis·learn, verb, mis·learned or mis·learnt, mis·learn·ing.out·learn, verb (used with object), out·learned or out·learnt, out·learn·ing.re·learn, verb, re·learned or re·learnt, re·learn·ing.
Can be confusedlearn teach

Synonym study

1. Learn, ascertain, detect, discover imply adding to one's store of facts. To learn is to add to one's knowledge or information: to learn a language. To ascertain is to verify facts by inquiry or analysis: to ascertain the truth about an event. To detect implies becoming aware of something that had been obscure, secret, or concealed: to detect a flaw in reasoning. To discover is used with objective clauses as a synonym of learn in order to suggest that the new information acquired is surprising to the learner: I discovered that she had been married before.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for learnable

Historical Examples

  • German and Spanish were scarcely ever taught; indeed, the former was regarded as quite outside the list of learnable tongues.

    It Might Have Been

    Emily Sarah Holt

British Dictionary definitions for learnable

learn

verb learns, learning, learned (lɜːnd) or learnt
  1. (when tr, may take a clause as object) to gain knowledge of (something) or acquire skill in (some art or practice)
  2. (tr) to commit to memory
  3. (tr) to gain by experience, example, etc
  4. (intr; often foll by of or about) to become informed; know
  5. not standard to teach
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Derived Formslearnable, adjective

Word Origin

Old English leornian; related to Old High German lirnen
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

Word Origin and History for learnable

adj.

1620s, from learn + -able.

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learn

v.

Old English leornian "to get knowledge, be cultivated, study, read, think about," from Proto-Germanic *liznojan (cf. Old Frisian lernia, Middle Dutch leeren, Dutch leren, Old High German lernen, German lernen "to learn," Gothic lais "I know"), with a base sense of "to follow or find the track," from PIE *leis- "track." Related to German Gleis "track," and to Old English læst "sole of the foot" (see last (n.)).

The transitive sense (He learned me how to read), now vulgar, was acceptable from c.1200 until early 19c., from Old English læran "to teach" (cf. Dutch leren, German lehren "to teach," literally "to make known;" see lore), and is preserved in past participle adjective learned "having knowledge gained by study." Related: Learning.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with learnable

learn

In addition to the idioms beginning with learn

  • learn by heart
  • learn one's lesson
  • learn to live with

also see:

  • by heart, learn
  • little knowledge (learning) is a dangerous thing
  • live and learn
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.