Definition of 'learn'

Word Frequency

learn

(lɜːʳn )

Word forms: 3rd person singular present tense learns , present participle learning , past tense learned , past participle learnt language note: American English uses the form learned as the past tense and past participle. British English uses either learned or learnt.

1. verb

If you learn something, you obtain knowledge or a skill through studying or training.

Their children were going to learn English. [VERB noun]

He is learning to play the piano. [VERB to-infinitive]

...learning how to use new computer systems. [VERB wh]

Experienced teachers help you learn quickly. [VERB]

[Also V + about]

Synonyms: master, grasp, acquire, pick up More Synonyms of learn

learning uncountable noun

...a bilingual approach to the learning of English. [+ of]

2. verb

If you learn of something, you find out about it.

It was only after his death that she learned of his affair with Betty. [VERB + of]

Later I learnt that the house was to be sold. [VERB that]

...the Admiral, who, on learning who I was, wanted to meet me. [VERB wh]

Synonyms: discover, hear, understand, gain knowledge More Synonyms of learn

3. verb

If people learn to behave or react in a particular way, they gradually start to behave in that way as a result of a change in attitudes.

You have to learn to face your problem. [VERB to-infinitive]

We are learning how to confront death instead of avoiding its reality. [V wh-to-inf]

4. verb

If you learn from an unpleasant experience, you change the way you behave so that it does not happen again or so that, if it happens again, you can deal with it better.

I am convinced that he has learned from his mistakes. [VERB + from]

The company failed to learn any lessons from this experience. [VERB noun + from]

5. verb

If you learn something such as a poem or a role in a play, you study or repeat the words so that you can remember them.

He learned this song as an inmate at a Texas prison. [VERB noun]

Synonyms: memorize, commit to memory, learn by heart, learn by rote More Synonyms of learn

6. See also learned, learning

7. to learn the ropes

Video: pronunciation of
learn

learn in British English

(lɜːn )

verbWord forms: learns, learning, learned (lɜːnd ) or learnt

1. (when tr, may take a clause as object)

to gain knowledge of (something) or acquire skill in (some art or practice)

2. (transitive)

to commit to memory

3. (transitive)

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

learnable (ˈlearnable)

adjective

Word origin

Old English leornian; related to Old High German lirnen

Word Frequency

learn in American English

(lɜrn )

verb transitiveWord forms: learned or Chiefly British learnt, ˈlearning

to get knowledge of (a subject) or skill in (an art, trade, etc.) by study, experience, instruction, etc.

to come to know

to learn what happened

to come to know how

to learn to swim

to fix in the mind; memorize

to acquire as a habit or attitude

to learn humility

to teach

now dialectal or otherwise nonstandard

verb intransitive

to gain knowledge or skill

to be informed; hear (of or about)

SYNONYMY NOTE: learn, as considered here, implies a finding out of something without conscious effort [I learned of their marriage from a friend]; ascertain implies a finding out with certainty as by careful inquiry, experimentation, or research [I ascertained the firm's credit rating]; determine stresses intention to establish the facts exactly, often so as to settle something in doubt [to determine the exact denotation of a word]; discover implies a finding out, by chance, exploration, etc., of something already existing or known to others [to discover a plot, a star, etc.]; unearth, in its figurative sense, implies a bringing to light, as by diligent search, of something that has been concealed, lost, or forgotten [to unearth old documents, a secret, etc.]

Derived forms

learnable (ˈlearnable)

adjective

learner (ˈlearner)

noun

Word origin

ME lernen, to learn, teach < OE leornian (akin to Ger lernen) < WGmc *liznōn (akin to Goth laisjan, to teach) < IE base *leis-, track, furrow > L lira, furrow

Examples of 'learn' in a sentence
learn

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She said that there were important lessons to be learnt from the death of her husband.You have to learn the hard way.Two weeks to learn something like that?What have you learnt from experiences with past managers that could be of value to me?Me and my son had to learn the hard way.That is something we can learn from in our batting and bowling.What did she learn from the experience?They let you learn that way.In addition to having to learn to walk again, she suffered from posttraumatic stress syndrome.In 1996 he suffered a stroke and had to learn to speak again.