Synonyms

understand

American

[uhn-der-stand] / ˌʌn dərˈstænd /

verb (used with object)

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)

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.

understand British

/ ˌʌndəˈstænd /

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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

understand Idioms

see give to understand.

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

Past

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.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing understand

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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:

understand understands understood understanding

"I don't know the issue yet in detail, but in some ways, as I understand it, it is about creating secure space," he said.

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

“We understand that missing an event isn’t just a bad user experience, it’s deeply disappointing on an emotional level. It’s also bad business, because our marketplace only works when fans attend an event.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

Blayne Hartman, an expert in vapors such as PCE, said that to understand the risk to those nearby, homes would have to be tested.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

"We understand people's concerns and I will look into the issues raised by the good people of Piddington."

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

To be honest, at the time I didn’t understand much of what they were talking about—only enough to know that I was on Mutti’s side.

From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo

Opposition leaders are now demanding he apologise to Takaichi, but Albanese's position is that it was the host who made the joke, not him, the BBC understands.

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

Fields said he understands the college recruiting grind.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

“But I still look forward to working with this next governor’s administration to make sure everybody understands what we are as an industry.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

The Senate understands this, which is why the legislation passed with strong bipartisan support.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

“She only understands Yiddish at the moment,” said Molly shortly.

From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny

So is a poorly understood corner of the Treasury market that’s looking interesting right now.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

"We understood that the IFR process takes time and fully respect the importance of that," he posted on X.

From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026

He said little during the brief hearing other than telling the judge that he understood his right to a speedy preliminary hearing and that he pleaded not guilty.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

Phylogenetic analyses indicate that Silescelida acristata may be related to the Euparkeriidae, a rare group of archosauriforms that is still poorly understood by science.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 10, 2026

I went to their cot and pleaded with them—though I didn’t know whether they understood German or not.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

So why, despite leaps forward in shoe technology and our understanding of nutrition and recovery, has that record not fallen?

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

Chief Justice John Roberts’ opinion for the court explained how the long-held understanding of birthright citizenship dates back to the English crown.

From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026

Recursive AI appears well on the way to writing for itself capabilities that exceed human capability and human understanding.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026

The discovery helps fill an important gap in our understanding of the evolution of archosauriformes, a group of reptiles that gave rise to the archosaurs.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 10, 2026

Gingersnipes and Clare exchanged exasperated looks, and in that moment, understanding dawned on Clare.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023