experience

[ ik-speer-ee-uhns ]

noun

1. a particular instance of personally encountering or undergoing something:

   My encounter with the bear in the woods was a frightening experience.

2. the process or fact of personally observing, encountering, or undergoing something:

   business experience.

3. the observing, encountering, or undergoing of things generally as they occur in the course of time:

   to learn from experience; the range of human experience.

4. knowledge or practical wisdom gained from what one has observed, encountered, or undergone:

   a man of experience.

5. Philosophy. the totality of the cognitions given by perception; all that is perceived, understood, and remembered.

verb (used with object)

, ex·pe·ri·enced, ex·pe·ri·enc·ing.

1. to have experience of; meet with; undergo; feel:

   to experience nausea.

   Synonyms: endure, brook, bear, suffer

2. to learn by experience.

experience

/ ɪkˈspɪərɪəns /

noun

1. direct personal participation or observation; actual knowledge or contact

   experience of prison life

2. a particular incident, feeling, etc, that a person has undergone

   an experience to remember

3. accumulated knowledge, esp of practical matters

   a man of experience

4. 1. the totality of characteristics, both past and present, that make up the particular quality of a person, place, or people
   2. the impact made on an individual by the culture of a people, nation, etc

      the American experience

5. philosophy
   1. the content of a perception regarded as independent of whether the apparent object actually exists Compare sense datum
   2. the faculty by which a person acquires knowledge of contingent facts about the world, as contrasted with reason
   3. the totality of a person's perceptions, feelings, and memories

verb

1. to participate in or undergo
2. to be emotionally or aesthetically moved by; feel

   to experience beauty

Derived Forms

• exˈperienceable, adjective

Other Words From

• ex·peri·ence·a·ble adjective
• ex·peri·ence·less adjective
• postex·peri·ence adjective
• preex·peri·ence noun verb (used with object) preexperienced preexperiencing
• reex·peri·ence verb reexperienced reexperiencing

Word History and Origins

Origin of experience¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, Middle French, from Latin experientia, equivalent to experient- (stem of experiēns, past participle of experīrī “to try, test”; ex- ¹, peril ) + -ia noun suffix; -ence

Word History and Origins

Origin of experience¹

C14: from Latin experientia, from experīrī to prove; related to Latin perīculum peril

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. experience religion, to undergo a spiritual conversion by which one gains or regains faith in God.

Example Sentences

I had an experience there the other day.

From Los Angeles Times

Her experience offers lessons on how Democrats might win working-class voters.

From Los Angeles Times

The actor, who has high hopes of being in a TV series next, had little acting experience before “Blitz.”

From Los Angeles Times

The roads were different, but their experiences proving themselves were similar.

From Los Angeles Times

Some people describe whooping cough as producing the worst coughing fits they’ve ever experienced.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• acquaintance
• background
• exposure
• familiarity
• intimacy
• involvement
• know-how
• knowledge
• participation
• practice
• understanding

How Do You Spell Experience?

Spelling tips for experience

The word experience is hard to spell for two reasons. First, it is tempting to use an a rather than an e in the final syllable, as in experiance. Second, people often think the final [ s] sound is spelled with an s rather than a c, as in experiense.

How to spell experience: An experience is an expert science. Drop the final t in expert and the sc- in science, and you get experience.

When To Use

What is another way to say experience?

To experience something is to meet with it or feel it firsthand. How is experience different from undergo? Find out on Thesaurus.com.