learn
Americanverb (used with object)
-
learns,
present (3rd person singular)
-
learned,
past participle, past
-
learnt,
past participle, past
-
learning
present participle
-
to acquire knowledge of or skill in by study, instruction, or experience.
to learn French;
to learn to ski.
-
to become informed of or acquainted with; ascertain.
to learn the truth.
-
to memorize.
He learned the poem so he could recite it at the dinner.
-
to gain (a habit, mannerism, etc.) by experience, exposure to example, or the like; acquire.
She learned patience from her father.
-
(of a device or machine, especially a computer) to perform an analogue of human learning with artificial intelligence.
-
Nonstandard. to instruct in; teach.
verb (used without object)
-
learns,
present (3rd person singular)
-
learned,
past participle, past
-
learnt,
past participle, past
-
learning
present participle
-
to acquire knowledge or skill.
to learn rapidly.
-
to become informed (usually followed byof ).
to learn of an accident.
verb
-
(when tr, may take a clause as object) to gain knowledge of (something) or acquire skill in (some art or practice)
-
(tr) to commit to memory
-
(tr) to gain by experience, example, etc
-
(intr; often foll by of or about) to become informed; know
-
not_standard to teach
Usage
What are other ways to say learn?
To learn something is to acquire knowledge of it through study or experience. How does learn compare with discover, ascertain, and detect? Find out on Thesaurus.com.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
learnsimple
-
learnssimple
-
have learnedperfect
-
have learntperfect
-
has learnedperfect
-
has learntperfect
-
am learningprogressive
-
are learningprogressive
-
is learningprogressive
-
have been learningperfect progressive
-
has been learningperfect progressive
Past
-
learnedsimple
-
learntsimple
-
had learnedperfect
-
had learntperfect
-
was learningprogressive
-
were learningprogressive
-
had been learningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of learn
First recorded 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
Explanation
To learn is to gain new knowledge or skills through study, practice or experience. You probably learn something every day. Whether you want to dance, understand chemistry, or know the alphabet backwards, you will have to learn. One of the most common ways to learn is through teachers and tutors, but people learn a lot from books, hobbies, jobs, and their families. Books and other reading material are a huge source of learning. Someone sent to prison learns they have to pay for their crime, but they might learn many things because they have plenty of time to read.
Vocabulary lists containing learn
President Obama's second inaugural address
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Part 1 Vocabulary (Unit 3)
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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.
See Examples For:
“Drag Race” production house World of Wonder said in an Instagram post on Tuesday the team is “devastated” to learn about the loss.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026
"Sgiath is incredibly clever. Her problem solving and her ability to take on new challenges and learn so quickly are just phenomenal, and it's so amazing to watch."
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026
Stateside listeners will be delighted to learn that the edition concludes with “Watching the Detectives,” the searing track that was appended to the American release.
From Salon ● Oct. 14, 2026
We can’t eliminate normalcy bias, but we can learn to recognize warning signs before they become emergencies.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026
“That’s my next run. This is the day when all the little kids stay on the bus extra-long, to learn bus safety. Maybe you need that, just to learn to get on and off?”
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
“Sometimes she has a new perspective and sometimes the world has changed. But in every case, she’ll take responsibility when she’s made a mistake and learns from it.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026
Once a person learns the technique, it can potentially become part of ordinary daily movement without requiring continued use of specialized equipment.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2026
Their weights, or the numeral parameters that the model learns throughout the training process, can be downloaded directly and run locally.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026
When her father-in-law learns that he has cancer, Sarah Perry struggles to embrace her new role as his caregiver.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
Still a girl, before the worst of it, before she learns the size and heft of a woman’s burdens.
From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead
I learned from the attack how unprepared our country was for a biological incident.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
When Mona arrived she was 15 and did not speak English, though she has learned English since.
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026
When Stefan Irinkov, 82, heard a loud bang in the early hours of Tuesday, he thought little of it -- until he learned that a ship had been hit by a drone nearby.
From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026
I knew that U2 had worked with Dolly — I’d heard the track already, and we listened to it again, having learned of her death.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
At the end of the school day, she spends her time reading to blind patients, or to those who never learned how to read.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
Here are three things we've learnt about the UK from the IMF's latest report.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
"That's probably the one I've learnt the most on, because that's the one I've spent the most amount of time on," he said.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
Gradually, they learnt how it worked and grew confident using it.
From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026
Teasdale learnt both ballet and gymnastics to develop his footwork and skills in the ring and was seemingly set for stardom.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
We were saved a retreat into the past, and I had learnt my lesson.
From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier
Federal agencies responded immediately, but everyone was learning on the go.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
By integrating quantum mechanics simulations, machine learning, automated identification of chemical reactions, and models of reaction rates, the approach could help researchers investigate other important industrial processes.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 14, 2026
She initially released the video and spoke to the San Francisco Standard last week upon learning of his upcoming hearing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
For years, people with the condition were assumed to have profound learning disabilities but Romi, who uses special eye-gaze technology to communicate, is hoping to challenge that belief.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
“Third option: How much are you really learning at school anyway?”
From "Bye Forever, I Guess" by Jodi Meadows
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.
