learnt
Americanverb
verb
Usage
And is learnt in the dictionary? Learnt is a word. It is the simple past tense and the past participle of the verb learn. Learnt causes some confusion because learned is also a valid form for the past tense and past participle of learn. Learned is more commonly used than learnt.
What's the past tense of learn?
The past tense of learn can be either learned or learnt, with learned being more common. For example:- Last night, she learned all her times tables by heart.
- Last night, she learnt her times tables by heart.
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.
But she acknowledged "there are, of course, always lessons to be learnt" when it comes to what the police put in the public domain.
From BBC • Apr. 25, 2026
BBC News has learnt that up to £100,000 in additional taxpayers' money was given to PIL while the Joell-Deshields legal case was ongoing.
From BBC • Apr. 24, 2026
In the process, suppliers learnt not only how to make goods, but how to brand, distribute and sell them at scale.
From BBC • Apr. 21, 2026
She told police she had learnt how to wrap and swaddle babies on the job, and had had no formal training in how to put children down to sleep.
From BBC • Apr. 16, 2026
Descartes exploded again, telling Beeckman he had learnt as much from him as he had learnt from ants and worms.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
