learn
verbnountop 1 000 in film dialogue
- United Kingdom//lɜːn//
- United States//lɝn//
- //lɑː(ɹ)n//
- //lɛːrn//
To acquire, or attempt to acquire knowledge or an ability to do something.
verb
- 1
To acquire, or attempt to acquire knowledge or an ability to do something.
It's time Dad learned (how) to change the oil in the car.
In my latest job, I've learnt to keep my mouth shut more than in the last one.
Toddlers learn to walk at around one year old.
a school in which he learns sly circumvention
- 2
To attend a course or other educational activity.
For, as he took delight to introduce me, I took delight to learn.
- 3
To gain knowledge from a bad experience so as to improve.
learn from one's mistakes
- 4
To study.
I learn medicine.
They learn psychology.
- 5
To come to know; to become informed of; to find out.
He just learned that he will be sacked.
- 6
To teach.
Give him a clip round the ear. That'll learn him!
And whan she had serched hym she fond in the bottome of his wound that therin was poyson And soo she heled hym[…] and therfore Tramtrist cast grete loue to la beale Isoud for she was at that tyme the fairest mayde and lady of the worlde And there Tramtryst lerned her to harpe and she beganne to haue grete fantasye vnto hym
Sweete Prince, you learne me noble thankfulnes: […]
Haue I not bene Thy Pupill long? Haſt thou not learn'd me how To make Perfumes?
Etymology
From Middle English lernen (“to learn", also, "to teach"”), from Old English leornian (“to learn", rarely also, "to teach”), from Proto-West Germanic *liʀnōn, from Proto-Germanic *lizaną, from Proto-Indo-European *(le-)lóys-e, stative from the root *leys- (“track, furrow, trace, trail”). The spelling with ⟨ea⟩ is of Early Modern English origin and reflects a lengthening of /ɛ~e/ to /eː/ before /rn/ in Late Old English or Early Middle English, then later lowering to /ɛː/; the modern pronunciation reflects still later reshortening. Cognate with Old Frisian lernia, lerna (“to learn”), Middle Low German lernen (“to learn", also, "to teach”), Middle Dutch leernen (“to learn", also, "to teach”) (whence Dutch lernen (“to study scripture”)), German lernen (“to learn”). See also lore and lear.
noun
- 1
The act of learning something.
I did a quick learn of the place by watching the people shuffle in. There was a healthy mix of beautiful and freaky people, who shared a few common denominators[…]
Forms
- plural
- learns
- past tense
- learned, learnt
- past participle
- learned, learnt
- present participle
- learning
- third person singular
- learns
learn · To acquire, or attempt to acquire knowledge or an ability to do something.
Learn · A surname from Scottish Gaelic.learned · Having much learning, knowledgeable, erudite; highly educated.Learned · A surname.