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
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(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
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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:
Cats rely heavily on scent to learn about one another, often gathering information from urine and other odor marks left behind in their surroundings.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026
The guy then ignores said friend—only to learn that those crypto holdings are going to the moon while his own investments are going nowhere.
From Slate ● Sep. 20, 2026
There are unspoken rules that news helicopter pilots learn once they join, Lynn said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
"There are lots of things we can learn and sometimes this year we may take those hits, it's a reality for teams that get to the Premier League," added Lampard.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
“Well, learn plenty,” I told him, “and tell me all about it when and if I get back.”
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
Her love life proves to be as evanescent as her artistic medium; when the novel begins, Tor learns that her boyfriend, Andreas, is cheating on her.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
She added that she enjoys traveling with a group of strangers because she usually learns something new.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026
In F1, one quickly learns to never say never, but the chances of the Dutch Grand Prix returning to the calendar seem remote for the foreseeable future.
From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026
The new framework proposes that the brain learns these recurring patterns and stores them within networks of synapses.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 18, 2026
Not everyone learns to read this way—memory taking over when the rest of the brain stops working, but I do.
From "Brown Girl Dreaming" by Jacqueline Woodson
Weeks before he died last March, Venice football coach Angelo Gasca told me the story of a player who wanted to quit and what he learned.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2026
I learned to appreciate where my food came from and how to utilize every ingredient and part of the animal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026
I learned you can say how you treat everyone the same, but you approach some kids differently.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2026
Hanna says she learned later that President Isaias himself had promised Aster that she would be safe.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
“A father and son. And the father apparently died the day after he learned his son had passed.”
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
"And I feel like I learnt to do that too," she says.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
"I have learnt so much, I have met people all around the world, and it has been delightful," she said.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
In August the BBC learnt that the Duchess of Sussex was in talks to return to acting following her and Harry's move back to the UK.
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026
For those who never learnt as children, Cole says starting later can feel particularly exposing.
From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026
The revolutionary element he introduced into the sacred music he wrote at Notre-Dame was something he’d clearly learnt from the troubadours, who had in turn picked it up from Spain: rhythm.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
The headline reads "Careless: how the state stopped me learning the story of my childhood".
From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026
It was started three years ago by English teacher Daryl Bilandzija, a former student of Crouch’s who saw that handing over the plot to his old teacher would mean learning for his students.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
The changes were accompanied by higher D-serine levels in the hippocampus, a brain region essential for learning and memory.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026
“I was learning essential crafts and techniques,” he says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
Not all learning about life could be found in books.
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
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.
