understand
Americanverb (used with object)
-
understands,
present (3rd person singular)
-
understood,
past participle, past
-
understanding
present participle
-
to perceive the meaning of; grasp the idea of; comprehend.
to understand Spanish; I didn't understand your question.
-
to be thoroughly familiar with; apprehend clearly the character, nature, or subtleties of.
to understand a trade.
-
to assign a meaning to; interpret.
He understood her suggestion as a complaint.
-
to grasp the significance, implications, or importance of.
He does not understand responsibility.
-
to regard as firmly communicated; take as agreed or settled.
I understand that you will repay this loan in 30 days.
-
to learn or hear.
I understand that you are going out of town.
-
to accept as true; believe.
I understand that you are trying to be truthful, but you are wrong.
-
to construe in a particular way.
You are to understand the phrase literally.
-
to supply mentally (something that is not expressed).
verb (used without object)
-
understands,
present (3rd person singular)
-
understood,
past participle, past
-
understanding
present participle
-
to perceive what is meant; grasp the information conveyed.
She told them about it in simple words, hoping they would understand.
-
to accept tolerantly or sympathetically.
If you can't do it, I'll understand.
-
to have knowledge or background, as on a particular subject.
He understands about boats.
-
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
-
(may take a clause as object) to know and comprehend the nature or meaning of
I understand you
I understand what you mean
-
(may take a clause as object) to realize or grasp (something)
he understands your position
-
(tr; may take a clause as object) to assume, infer, or believe
I understand you are thinking of marrying
-
(tr) to know how to translate or read
can you understand Spanish?
-
(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
-
(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
-
understandsimple
-
understandssimple
-
have understoodperfect
-
has understoodperfect
-
am understandingprogressive
-
are understandingprogressive
-
is understandingprogressive
-
have been understandingperfect progressive
-
has been understandingperfect progressive
Past
-
understoodsimple
-
had understoodperfect
-
was understandingprogressive
-
were understandingprogressive
-
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)
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
"Kids Like Me: Voices of the Immigrant Experience"
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Foundational Reading
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
“Crystal Lake” and “Carrie” have the unenviable task of taking scary mommies we already know and helping us understand their motivations in new contexts.
From Salon ● Oct. 30, 2026
Tennessee inmate Christa Pike said she is still in pain and struggling to understand what happened after she survived a botched execution one month ago.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
Doughty believes attitudes have changed since then, adding: "I think we've worked really hard in Newport to go into schools, to do shows here, to really develop people who understand what we're about."
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026
You don’t have to excuse it, but you can try to understand it.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 30, 2026
Recollections were only ever used to understand a soul’s destiny, and that Recollection had been his.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
Yet Flores also understands that the last thing he can become is predictable.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
Blumenfield also understands the objection but points out that the ballot already is overwhelming, and that everything in Measure LA addresses a change in governance and efficiency.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2026
The BBC understands Gordon Brothers has lined up AlixPartners as administrators.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
The couple understands the trade-off — is it better to have cash in the bank or in home equity?
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 28, 2026
And though the girl is young, she understands things that others do not.
From "Willodeen" by Katherine Applegate
The Framers understood that, even for the most virtuous, receipt of favors creates a predisposition to do favors in return.
From Slate ● Oct. 30, 2026
The concept of "associate membership", he added, is something that is not clearly understood as it pertains to Canada.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
Much of this vast landscape is public land managed by the Bureau of Land Management, some of the least understood and most threatened public lands in the West.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026
For decades, scientists have understood that directing laser light at certain atoms can cause them to emit extremely short pulses of much higher-frequency light, including X-rays.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 29, 2026
In that moment, I understood why I’d been forced to train so brutally and intensely for my entire life.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
"I was thinking me and him had a mutual understanding, and now I feel so stupid," she raged.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026
At the very least, says Mr. Conlon, “studying Greek puts us on firmer ground in understanding our own origins.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
Picard, the actor’s greatest TV legacy, is a paragon of grace: empathetic, dedicated to a mission of understanding and devoted to preserving what is best about Starfleet.
From Salon ● Oct. 30, 2026
The NFL Players Association said Wednesday that such studies “are critical to improving our understanding of football’s long-term impacts.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026
I want to freeze it in time: us, here together, connected by an unbreakable understanding and more love than I have ever felt for this gentle, frail, strong old lady.
From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
