understood

American  

[uhn-der-stood] / ˌʌn dərˈstʊd /

verb

1. simple past tense and past participle of understand.

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adjective

1. agreed upon; known in advance; assented to.

   It is the understood policy of this establishment to limit credit.

2. implied but not stated; left unexpressed.

   The understood meaning of a danger sign is “Do not approach.”

understood British  

/ ˌʌndəˈstʊd /

verb

1. the past tense and past participle of understand

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adjective

1. implied or inferred

2. taken for granted; assumed

Other Word Forms

• half-understood adjective
• nonunderstood adjective
• self-understood adjective
• well-understood adjective

Etymology

Origin of understood

First recorded in 1600–10, for the adjective

Example Sentences

If designers understood the hurdles that users faced, they could reduce the friction between intention and action by making the machine intuitive to use.

From Slate • Apr. 4, 2026

And Karp understood the influence of names in making his company and his employees work the way he wanted.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 4, 2026

That year, a customer understood to be Amazon—which comprised half its annual sales at the time—drastically pulled back orders.

From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026

Others have struggled to make their needs understood, or found that the encounter unfolded in a way that unintentionally caused further harm.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 1, 2026

As if he understood perfectly, Bo slunk over to my side, silent as a mouse.

From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler