Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- v. To gain knowledge, comprehension, or mastery of through experience or study.
- v. To fix in the mind or memory; memorize: learned the speech in a few hours.
- v. To acquire experience of or an ability or a skill in: learn tolerance; learned how to whistle.
- v. To become aware: learned that it was best not to argue.
- v. To become informed of; find out. See Synonyms at discover.
- v. Nonstandard To cause to acquire knowledge; teach.
- v. Obsolete To give information to.
- v. To gain knowledge, information, comprehension, or skill: learns quickly; learned about computers; learned of the job through friends.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- To gain or acquire knowledge of or skill in; become informed of or acquainted with: as, to learn grammar; to learn the truth.
- To teach.
- To acquire or receive knowledge, information, or intelligence; receive instruction; profit from teaching: as, to learn how to act; the child learns rapidly.
Wiktionary
- v. To teach.
- v. To acquire, or attempt to acquire knowledge or an ability to do something.
- v. To attend a course or other educational activity.
- v. To make use of a bad experience.
- v. To improve, maybe used in an order.
- v. To be studying.
- v. To come to know; to become informed of; to find out.
GNU Webster's 1913
- v. To gain knowledge or information of; to ascertain by inquiry, study, or investigation; to receive instruction concerning; to fix in the mind; to acquire understanding of, or skill
- v. obsolete To communicate knowledge to; to teach.
- v. To acquire knowledge or skill; to make progress in acquiring knowledge or skill; to receive information or instruction.
WordNet 3.0
- v. get to know or become aware of, usually accidentally
- v. find out, learn, or determine with certainty, usually by making an inquiry or other effort
- v. impart skills or knowledge to
- v. gain knowledge or skills
- v. commit to memory; learn by heart
- v. be a student of a certain subject
Etymologies
- Middle English lernen, from Old English leornian ("to acquire knowledge"). Compare German lernen. (Wiktionary)
- Middle English lernen, from Old English leornian; see leis-1 in Indo-European roots. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“He beat all Ireland in the Intermediate examinations, and when I met him in America years afterwards he said: ‘There is nothing I cannot learn and nothing that I want to learn’.534 Some instinct drew us together, it was to him I used to read my poems.”
“Precious as are the words which drop from His lips, which are spirit and are life, His life itself is more than all His teachings; and it is when we learn, not _from_ Him, but when we _learn_ Him, that we see the Father.”
Expositions of Holy Scripture Ephesians; Epistles of St. Peter and St. John
“if you want to learn how to or get tips on design mixtape covers checkthis site out...mixtape covers design is the next big thing in hip hop and graphic design..learn something you dont know or contribute www.officialmixtapetutorials.com”
“J-Lo thinks Caleb is cute, which we soon learn is code for "You're going to Hollywood.”
The Washington Post: 'American Idol' premieres: New judges, same old show
“I'm glad to have had the opportunity to put this through the mill because it seems the only way to learn is to do.”
“Basically, writers, the lesson to learn is to tie up your loose ends, and make sure that if you raise the stakes in your plot, you show how bad the devastation will be or what there is to lose, etc.”
Writer Unboxed » Blog Archive » Storytellers: You Are Obligated To Deliver The Goods
“They best way for me to learn is to engage in discussion and argument about the subject.”
Match Your Learning Style With The Proper Productivity Tools | Lifehacker Australia
“If you're a scientist working in the proprietary labs of industry I've heard that the very first thing you have to learn is to UN-learn what you've been taught about the brick wall around causation.”
“The easiest way to learn is to be taught by the actual master herself, Paula Kates from PJ's soaps.”
“One perfectly valid way to learn is to put your thinking out there and let people comment on it.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘learn’.
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Public List: Two by Fives
This is an experiment in public lists--something I've been thinking about for some time. The goal is to create a collection of short, powerful, evocative words.
This is an open list. A...icy, howl, hymn, thorn, fire, vile, mist, blunt, scum, dark, shot, gleam and 221 more...
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Whooping Crane
Words for the Whooping Crane Alphabet book
ultralight, patuxent, maryland, wisconsin, florida, people, chick, juvenile, adult, swamp monster, teach, learn and 48 more...
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no little thing
it bothers me when i hear someone who have experienced something life changing use the phrase: now i appreciate the little things. I DON'T BELIEVE THERE ARE ANY LITTLE THINGS. everything is EXTRAOR...
letters, living, understand, narrow, behavior, personal, need, meant, untamed, world, soldier, 'cause and 241 more...
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strangelyrouge's Words
glockenspiel, gewgaw, jetsam, flotsam, gripe, grab, wench, whilst, betwixt, hither, thither, yonder and 1034 more...
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Basic English Vocabulary
Very basic words for ESL students.
contemplate, container, consumer, consultant, consensus, conscious, conscience, connection, confusion, confront, conflict, confident and 4334 more...
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The things they carried (List 2)
Listening to this as an audio book for the second time. Tim O'Brien uses simple words and phrases to great effect. Very few unfamilar and big words . The writing style reminds me of words from Joh...
The, Things, They, Carried, meant, fond, By necessity,, presented to him, far beyond, against the brick..., reaching, taut and 2940 more...
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WrightHandWords's Words
yclept, unction, prana, satya, abhyasa, vairagya, yoga, ashtanga, acronym, etymology, asana, widget and 286 more...
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the hotlist
short, sweet, epic, catchy, sassy, sexy & sizzling.
( personal list, randomness )
more:
http://www.wordnik.com/lists/...zing, epic, win, fail, hot, warp, times, clip, onyx, wonky, pwn, leet and 1493 more...
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Words I HATE!! >:O
These are just all around words that I despise. I don't know why I just hate them with all my heart and soul.
popular, legit, represent, learn, math, intercept, ugly, audacious
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Poetrie: The Rose Growing into the House
by Gibbons Ruark
Lately I think of my love for you and the rose
Growing into the house, springing up from under the eaves
And spiraling upward to pierce the chink in the corn...lately, think, love, rose, growing, house, springing, under, eaves, spiraling, upward, pierce and 18 more...
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brigid31's Words
cellar, time, winter, snow, ninja, sourdough, soar, lake, link, senior, graduate, college and 20 more...
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jratliff's list
Chris' Valentine's Wordie
sadie, daughter, father, love, unconditional, sweet, chris, grow, cherish, pink, jane, christine and 31 more...
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TT3 Lesson 30
outdoors, camp stove, stove, ice chest, appliance, case, soft drink, knife, fork, silverware, tool, tool kit and 59 more...
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Tunie: When You Dream
by Barenaked Ladies.
With life just begun, my sleeping new son
Has eyes that roll back in his head
They flutter and dart, he slows down his heart
And pictures a world...beyond, wise, cognizant, experience, waves, transistor radio, runaway, perceived, loud, noises, boisterous, silent and 39 more...
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NSLS Library 2.0 conference
search, google, advertising, perception, boring, civilian, bun, hysterical, ignored, indifference, love, evil and 69 more...
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Contronympho
A list of my most favorite contronyms, words that 'defeat themselves' by having multiple-meanings which contradict. Also called antagonyms, auto-antonyms, autantonyms, Janus words, and self-antony...
over, identify, clear, before, execute, bolt, custom, garnish, left, off, charge, save and 56 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for learn.
whichbe A contranym: both to be taught or to teach. ("I'm gonna learn you!") May 14, 2008