learn

[ lurn ]

verb (used with object)

, learned [lurnd] or learnt [lurnt], learn·ing [lur, -ning].

1. to acquire knowledge of or skill in by study, instruction, or experience:

   to learn French;

   to learn to ski.

2. to become informed of or acquainted with; ascertain:

   to learn the truth.

3. to memorize:

   He learned the poem so he could recite it at the dinner.

4. to gain (a habit, mannerism, etc.) by experience, exposure to example, or the like; acquire:

   She learned patience from her father.

5. (of a device or machine, especially a computer) to perform an analogue of human learning with artificial intelligence.
6. Nonstandard. to instruct in; teach.

verb (used without object)

, learned [lurnd] or learnt [lurnt], learn·ing [lur, -ning].

1. to acquire knowledge or skill:

   to learn rapidly.

2. to become informed (usually followed by of ):

   to learn of an accident.

learn

/ lɜːn /

verb

1. when tr, may take a clause as object to gain knowledge of (something) or acquire skill in (some art or practice)
2. tr to commit to memory
3. tr to gain by experience, example, etc
4. intr; often foll by of or about to become informed; know
5. not_standard.
   to teach

Derived Forms

• ˈlearnable, adjective

Other Words From

• learna·ble adjective
• mis·learn verb mislearned or mislearnt mislearning
• outlearn verb (used with object) outlearned or outlearnt outlearning
• re·learn verb relearned or relearnt relearning

Word History and Origins

Origin of learn¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English lernen, Old English leornian “to learn, read, ponder” (cognate with German lernen ); akin to lesan “to glean” (cognate with German lesen “to read”). See lear

Word History and Origins

Origin of learn¹

Old English leornian; related to Old High German lirnen

Idioms and Phrases

• by heart, learn
• little knowledge (learning) is a dangerous thing
• live and learn

Example Sentences

“All students deserve to go to school and have the right to learn and grow without fear of harassment or discrimination,” Gaylynn Burroughs, vice president of education and workplace justice at the National Women’s Law Center, said in a statement.

From Salon

We should learn the lessons of this early win well and apply them often in what will undoubtedly be turbulent and challenging years ahead for the American project.

From Slate

Polite and chivalrous — his parents sent him to etiquette school so he could learn how to be a gentleman — he writes about his early dating experience with a mix of laughter and chagrin: “My mom had done such a miraculous job sheltering me from negative influences she had effectively made me an overconfident, generous-minded dunce for teen girls to roll over.”

From Los Angeles Times

"Where can we learn from the sex workers? Maybe we can learn something from this industry. How do we get empowered as artists and take a bit more control?"

From BBC

"Even at a surprisingly young age, kids have sophisticated knowledge of the grammar of sentences and can use that to learn the meanings of new words," says Athulya Aravind, an associate professor of linguistics at MIT.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• determine
• enroll
• gain
• get
• grasp
• master
• pick up
• read
• receive
• review
• study