versed
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of versed
1600–10; < Latin versātus busied, engaged ( see versatile), with -ed 2 for Latin -ātus
Explanation
To be versed in something is to know it well and have experience with it. If you’re well versed in Middle English literature, you know that Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales in 1475. Go you. Versed comes from the Latin word versari which means basically “to busy oneself, to be engaged.” If you’re versed (sounds like “verst”) in a subject, you’ve busied yourself with it and now you know it well. A history professor is versed in history. Someone with a massive comic book collection is probably versed in superheroes. Sometimes people say a person is well versed instead of versed, but either way, that person knows what they’re talking about.
Vocabulary lists containing versed
Words to Describe Yourself on a Resume
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Life of Pi
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Are You Experienced? Synonyms for "Expert"
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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.
Forty-five years old, tall and strikingly handsome, Sumner was the consummate New England intellectual: widely traveled, deeply versed in classics and the law, and staunchly committed to the cause of African-Americans.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 4, 2026
Seniors are targeted by scammers, if only because they’re more likely to be at home if they’re retired and perhaps are not as well versed in technology as younger generations.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 27, 2026
It would need leaders well versed in politics, diplomacy, economics, and strategy.
From Slate • Feb. 9, 2026
She set the tone early by making pianist Mike Garson, best known for his work with David Bowie, but well versed in jazz and classical, the first artist she spoke to.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 7, 2026
They made a perfect team, because Toshiro was a prodigy at videogames, while the much younger Akihide was well versed in American pop culture.
From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline
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.
