learning

[ lur-ning ]

See synonyms for: learning learnings on Thesaurus.com

noun

the act or process of acquiring knowledge or skill: Students exhibit a clear love of learning, enjoying the relationships they have with their teachers.
knowledge acquired by systematic study in any field of scholarly application: She enjoys showing off her learning to her parents.

Psychology. the modification of behavior through practice, training, or experience.
Usually learnings. something that is learned through education or experience: Parents can help set up expectations, nurture curiosity, cultivate discipline, and reinforce learnings.

Origin of learning

First recorded before 900; Middle English lerning, Old English leornung; see origin at learn, -ing¹

synonym study For learning

2. Learning, erudition, lore, scholarship refer to knowledge existing or acquired. Learning is the most general term. It may refer to knowledge obtained by systematic study or by trial and error: a man of learning; learning in the real world. Erudition suggests a thorough, formal, and profound sort of knowledge obtained by extensive research; it is especially applied to knowledge in fields other than those of mathematics and physical sciences: a man of vast erudition in languages. Lore is accumulated knowledge in a particular field, especially of a curious, anecdotal, or traditional nature; the word is now somewhat literary: nature lore; local lore. Scholarship is the formalized learning that is taught in schools, especially as actively employed by a person trying to master some field of knowledge or extend its bounds: high standards of scholarship in history.

Other words from learning

un·learn·ing, adjective

Words Nearby learning

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

How to use learning in a sentence

I thought I caught sight of one recently when Richard Barrera, a school board member for San Diego Unified School District, said online learning had opened up new possibilities for students in lower-income areas.
When a Calculus Class Abruptly Became Ceramics at Lincoln High | Scott Lewis | September 16, 2020 | Voice of San Diego
The startup’s main value proposition is that it makes it easier and cheaper for businesses to analyze data they’ve shelved away on the cloud—including the massive datasets needed to train machine learning algorithms.
Snowflake’s IPO is a bet on companies using AI for everything | Nicolás Rivero | September 16, 2020 | Quartz
When schools began transitioning to remote learning, students’ needs changed, too.
How to drive digital innovation necessary during the pandemic | Nick Chasinov | September 16, 2020 | Search Engine Watch
The app provides an endless scrollable feed of short, user-generated videos, surfaced by a machine learning system that tracks what you watch and interact with.
TikTok’s enormous value isn’t just in its algorithm | Adam Epstein | September 15, 2020 | Quartz
Indeed, there may be no way to stop the rise of machine learning, but there’s still time to prepare.
When it comes to A.I., worry about ‘job churn’ instead of ‘job loss’ | jonathanvanian2015 | September 15, 2020 | Fortune

What is most troubling is our – and I do mean “our” and not “their” – never treating these situations as learning opportunities.
In 2015, Let’s Try for More Compassion | Gene Robinson | January 4, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST
In the absence of typical classrooms and curriculums, West Africans have opted for alternate methods of learning and education.
The Radio Battle to Educate Ebola’s Kids | Abby Haglage | December 11, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
These tests prod and poke the children, creating lots of anxiety and taking away from the joy of learning.
Hunger Games Comes to New York State’s Public Schools | Zephyr Teachout | November 26, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
He is honest about his religious doubts, but he is committed to learning more about God.
The Good Wife’s Religion Politics: Voters Have No Faith in Alicia's Atheism | Regina Lizik | November 24, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
And Glenn, Tara, and Rosita spend the episode, um, learning to fish.
The Walking Dead’s ‘Crossed’: The Stage Is Now Set for a Bloody, Deadly Midseason Finale | Melissa Leon | November 24, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
All our intelligent students will insist upon learning what they can of these discussions and forming opinions for themselves.
The Salvaging Of Civilisation | H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
Thomas Cooper, an English prelate, died; highly commended for his great learning and eloquence.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology | Joel Munsell
He was a patriot of the noblest and most extensive views, and justly celebrated as a man of learning, eloquent and refined.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology | Joel Munsell
It has only been a rare and exceptional class hitherto that has gone on learning throughout life.
The Salvaging Of Civilisation | H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
At twelve, or fifteen, or sixteen, or twenty it was decided that they should stop learning.
The Salvaging Of Civilisation | H. G. (Herbert George) Wells

British Dictionary definitions for learning

learning

/ (ˈlɜːnɪŋ) /

noun

knowledge gained by study; instruction or scholarship
the act of gaining knowledge

psychol any relatively permanent change in behaviour that occurs as a direct result of experience

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

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