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.
Hinton said on Tuesday that the company had learnt some lessons following the supply failures.
From BBC • Apr. 14, 2026
"We've learnt that due to sustained pressure, France has had to withdraw its invitation to South Africa to attend the G7 meeting," Vincent Magwenya, spokesperson to the president, told AFP.
From Barron's • Mar. 26, 2026
“I think, as you say, the textbook and what we’ve learnt from central banks through history is an oil-price shock is actually seen as more of a growth issue than an inflation issue,” he said.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 19, 2026
Peter Smith, who competed in the 1986 and 1990 Commonwealth Games, learnt to dive at the Citadel and spent more than a decade as head coach.
From BBC • Mar. 18, 2026
Millwrights had learnt by trial and error what worked and what did not, but rapid advance required systematic experimentation, and this only occurred after the experimental method had been elevated to a new intellectual status.
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.
