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Definitions

learn

[lurn] / lɜrn /




Usage

What are other ways to say learn? To learn is to add to one's knowledge or information: to learn a language. To ascertain is to verify facts by inquiry or analysis: to ascertain the truth about an event. To detect implies becoming aware of something that had been obscure, secret, or concealed: to detect a flaw in reasoning. The verb discover is used with objective clauses as a synonym of learn in order to suggest that the new information acquired is surprising to the learner: I discovered that she had been married before.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is another word for learn?
To learn is to acquire knowledge of something through study and/or experience. The process of acquiring knowledge is called learning. To learn a subject or topic is to gain understanding of it—to grasp it. To learn a skill is to become proficient in it (and perhaps eventually to master it). In many cases, learning is the result of teaching. But learning isn’t always formal, like that done in school. We often learn things by teaching ourselves. Learning often involves working to understand something, but sometimes it happens almost automatically. The informal term pick up is sometimes used in the context of acquiring knowledge or skills in this way, such as through immersion, as in I picked up Italian when I spent two semesters in Rome. Another sense of learn (used in phrases like learn of and learn about) means to become or be made aware of something. This often involves hearing about or being informed about something, but sometimes it is more active. Synonyms for the more active sense include ascertain, detect, and discover.
What is another word for eager to learn?
Someone who is eager to learn often has a thirst for knowledge. Such a person is often inherently curious. Students who are eager to learn are often studious. A more general term is enthusiastic.
What is another word for a quick learner?
A quick or fast learner could be described as a quick study. You could describe such a person as having a quick mind or a ready grasp of something or, more informally, as having a mind like a sponge. Such a person could also be described as perceptive.
Is it learnt or learned?
Learned and learnt are both past tense forms of learn, but learned is far more common, especially in everyday speech.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

"I remember reading the Seamus Heaney poem Digging, and thinking 'why are we reading a poem about potatoes'. Now he's one of my favourite poets, but it was just another subject I had to learn."

From BBC Jul. 26, 2026

A lab-raised monkey, born without a fear of snakes, can be taught to fear them—but not to fear flowers, a difference that suggests an inherited readiness to learn a survival strategy.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 24, 2026

Not only fans of those teams were anxious to learn his decision.

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 24, 2026

Open models publish their weights, or the numerical values that models learn during training.

From MarketWatch Jul. 24, 2026

Hugo helped me learn how to ride the bicycle.

From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler

At the hospital, Jack learns that the man behind the wheel was Governor George McRyan, a presidential hopeful polling extremely well in the primaries, who left a campaign event with Sally as his escort.

From Salon Jul. 4, 2026

In an interview with the Financial Times, the Turing Award winner lamented that, although "he learns fast," Wang has "no experience with research" and was on "a dead end" quest.

From Barron's Jul. 1, 2026

She said: "Integration isn't charity, it's common sense. A person who learns English or Welsh, finds work and contributes isn't actually a burden."

From BBC Jul. 1, 2026

Before the narrative kicks in, the movie starts at a museum exhibit where a tour group learns about the history of film.

From Los Angeles Times Jun. 30, 2026

But when she arrives, she learns that the Thirty-Seventh Division has relocated to Malolos.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly

On his June 2026 song “We Know the Truth,” he rejected allegations connecting him to the killing and said he learned after arriving to perform at the festival that someone had been stabbed.

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 25, 2026

Ansari said she learned only this week that the brothers had traveled to D.C. for meetings, including one with Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas.

From Salon Jul. 25, 2026

As he puts it, natural selection blindly explores a vast “design space”—the trillions of trait combinations a species might have—turning up workable solutions that human designers have learned to borrow.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 24, 2026

OpenAI issued a press release explaining what had happened and said it was "partnering with Hugging Face" to address the security incident and share lessons learned.

From BBC Jul. 24, 2026

“I’d be awful at acting. My ma says that I’ve never learned to control my emotions.”

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

He also learnt a new skill for the movie: "I did a lot of swordfighting, which I loved".

From BBC Jul. 8, 2026

The room, which doubles as a kitchen and bedroom, was decorated with flowers drawn by Habiba's 11-year-old daughter, Nahida, who was practising English that she had learnt at the village school.

From Barron's Jul. 1, 2026

He learnt that he had been born in Bristol and as a baby he had been unwell.

From BBC Jun. 23, 2026

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said it was "too early to speculate" on the cause of the crash while vowing "a thorough investigation ... to ensure that lessons are learnt".

From Barron's Jun. 20, 2026

And, if Maxim was not with me, the hearing of them would be a furtive, rather painful pleasure, guilty knowledge learnt in the dark.

From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier

The biggest capability gain in AI’s history was an alignment technique: Reinforcement learning from human feedback made ChatGPT possible.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 26, 2026

In the process of learning from past behaviors, we sometimes villainize our former selves.

From MarketWatch Jul. 24, 2026

"You don't just learn that something is a planet; you immediately begin learning about its temperature, chemistry, and motion."

From Science Daily Jul. 23, 2026

The achievement isn’t lost on Jim Tracy, who became so emotional upon learning his son was named interim Red Sox manager he pulled his car to the side of the road.

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 23, 2026

“You are a regular scholar, Beulah. In two or three years you’ll be learning your multiplication tables.”

From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck




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