understand
Americanverb (used with object)
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to perceive the meaning of; grasp the idea of; comprehend.
to understand Spanish; I didn't understand your question.
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to be thoroughly familiar with; apprehend clearly the character, nature, or subtleties of.
to understand a trade.
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to assign a meaning to; interpret.
He understood her suggestion as a complaint.
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to grasp the significance, implications, or importance of.
He does not understand responsibility.
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to regard as firmly communicated; take as agreed or settled.
I understand that you will repay this loan in 30 days.
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to learn or hear.
I understand that you are going out of town.
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to accept as true; believe.
I understand that you are trying to be truthful, but you are wrong.
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to construe in a particular way.
You are to understand the phrase literally.
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to supply mentally (something that is not expressed).
verb (used without object)
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to perceive what is meant; grasp the information conveyed.
She told them about it in simple words, hoping they would understand.
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to accept tolerantly or sympathetically.
If you can't do it, I'll understand.
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to have knowledge or background, as on a particular subject.
He understands about boats.
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to have a systematic interpretation or rationale, as in a field or area of knowledge.
He can repeat every rule in the book, but he just doesn't understand.
verb
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(may take a clause as object) to know and comprehend the nature or meaning of
I understand you
I understand what you mean
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(may take a clause as object) to realize or grasp (something)
he understands your position
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(tr; may take a clause as object) to assume, infer, or believe
I understand you are thinking of marrying
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(tr) to know how to translate or read
can you understand Spanish?
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(tr; may take a clause as object; often passive) to accept as a condition or proviso
it is understood that children must be kept quiet
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(tr) to be sympathetic to or compatible with
we understand each other
Usage
What are other ways to say understand? To understand something is to be thoroughly familiar with it, or to apprehend clearly its character, nature, or subtleties. How is understand different from know and comprehend? Find out on Thesaurus.com.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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understandsimple
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understandssimple
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have understoodperfect
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has understoodperfect
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am understandingprogressive
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are understandingprogressive
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is understandingprogressive
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have been understandingperfect progressive
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has been understandingperfect progressive
Past
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understoodsimple
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had understoodperfect
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was understandingprogressive
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were understandingprogressive
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had been understandingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of understand
First recorded before 900; Middle English understanden, understonden, Old English understondan; cognate with Dutch onderstaan. See under-, stand
Explanation
To understand something is to comprehend or get it. The more we learn, the more we understand. The goal of most education is to help students understand how the world works: history, math, English, music, science, and art are all complicated subjects that you need to practice and think about before you can really understand them. Understanding requires knowledge and thought. Another kind of understanding is like sympathy. For example, you might not approve of stealing, but you could understand why a guy would steal to feed his family.
Vocabulary lists containing understand
TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
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"Kids Like Me: Voices of the Immigrant Experience"
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Foundational Reading
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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:
Neutrality means the FJC’s materials should be written by disinterested experts, vetted for bias and confined to helping judges understand evidence.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 16, 2026
“When you’re with someone that is in your field, they understand what you’re dealing with on a deeper level,” she told People in 2019.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026
To better understand why some populations recover while others continue to collapse, researchers studied common midwife toads living around four lakes in the Pyrenees of France and Spain that had all experienced severe Bd outbreaks.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 15, 2026
Laura Parker, a lawyer for the center, said it can be hard for people to understand why a tiny lizard, or rare mussel species, or the lesser prairie chicken are worth preserving.
From Salon ● Jul. 15, 2026
She pauses, quietly urging me to hear what she’s trying to make me understand.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
SharkNinja understands it has limited power to regulate AI-generated content on TikTok Shop, according to Shah, its CCO.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
“And I just want to clarify, so everyone understands, the league did not pause the trade,” Silver said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
BBC Scotland News understands several residents have already left the building following the warning on Monday, while others are considering their options.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
“She’s working at a job for the first time in her 40s, and now she understands that she has to save for retirement,” Taylor said.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026
And though the girl is young, she understands things that others do not.
From "Willodeen" by Katherine Applegate
President Emmanuel Macron understood these numbers, which is why he pushed the Legislature in 2023 to gradually raise the French retirement age to 64 from 62.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 16, 2026
“For residential electricity consumption, DST is best understood as a policy that changes when we use power far more than how much we use.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026
According to Pounder, Saar has long understood that in life as in art, things take the time they take.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
Ezri Konsa, John Stones, Marc Guehi and Nico O'Reilly all started, and it is understood that Tuchel was impressed with how the quartet operated in the 2-1 win.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
And without my ever saying anything, I knew she understood all my own fears, about Papi, about the bombers that might come any day now, about the war.
From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo
The authors found that EEA capabilities have improved markedly over the past decade, thanks to advances in understanding physical drivers of events, expanded observational data from satellites and radar, new statistical techniques and better models.
From Barron's ● Jul. 16, 2026
"Our work helps explain our fascination with crystals and contributes to the understanding of the evolutionary roots of aesthetics and worldview," concluded García-Ruiz.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 15, 2026
The memorandum of understanding, which both Americans and Iranians claimed as a victory for their side, was intentionally vague, leaving much up to later negotiation.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
This understanding prevailed in the convention, and it pervaded the Founders’ thinking.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
Trust is what Xander has for me and my understanding of human speech.
From "A Rover's Story" by Jasmine Warga
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.
