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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:

He said he didn’t learn about the charges against him until four hours later.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026

What do you need to learn to pass the Knowledge?

From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026

“I was really curious to learn: Why did they kill this guy?”

From Salon ● Oct. 19, 2026

It’s easy to judge, but it’s better to listen and learn from other people’s experiences.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 19, 2026

What if I could just say, “I’m not very good at conversations about feelings,” the same way Celia said, “It takes me a long time to learn a new skill.”

From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison

“Sometimes she has a new perspective and sometimes the world has changed. But in every case, she’ll take responsibility when she’s made a mistake and learns from it.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026

Once a person learns the technique, it can potentially become part of ordinary daily movement without requiring continued use of specialized equipment.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2026

Fourteen-year-old Genevieve learns she can change her clothes to pass as a much more glamorous 17-year-old, while 11-year-old Fenella prefers covering herself in gray fur so she resembles a cat.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

Their weights, or the numeral parameters that the model learns throughout the training process, can be downloaded directly and run locally.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026

It’s not until the end of the story that Dorothy learns she can wish on the shoes to take her back home to Kansas.

From "The First Rule of Punk" by Celia C. Pérez

They had been certified at PSA and were being returned to him in Michigan when he learned about the theft.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026

I’ve learned which things are worth making myself, which are better left to professionals and how much pleasure a few slightly theatrical details can bring to an otherwise ordinary meal.

From Salon ● Oct. 20, 2026

He said there are lessons to be learned and limits to U.S. power.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026

The researchers also highlight an important distinction between what people consciously believe and what they have learned through experience.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 19, 2026

Luring visitors inside with refreshment was a little trick Clare had learned from Brickbane, who’d learned it from Po, who’d learned it from Eddifoot, who’d learned it from the Usher before him, and so on.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman

"I've learnt a lot as a captain, I've learnt a lot as a person," Brook, whose side return to action in a 50-over tri-series on Tuesday, told Press Association.

From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026

It was only later that he learnt of Nansi's heroics.

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

Griffith said she felt "sadness and frustration that women had to go through these experiences" for the review to happen and she wants lessons to be learnt across the industry.

From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026

"I have learnt so much, I have met people all around the world, and it has been delightful," she said.

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

“I suppose it is a bit cruel,” Ruth said, “the way they always work him up like that. But it’s his own fault. If he learnt to keep his cool, they’d leave him alone.”

From "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro

“It’s about learning what to do with those emotions without making somebody else pay for them.”

From Salon ● Oct. 18, 2026

Where possible, the creative team used malleable physical effects to better reflect the consistency of a clay-like substance, something Rhys Harries said was a "steep learning curve".

From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026

“Can’t express enough how amazing of a learning experience this is,” Hesam Motlagh, a startup founder and adjunct professor at Stanford University, wrote on LinkedIn.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026

A massive data breach of the Instructure Canvas learning system hit UC, CSU and other schools across the nation.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026

To be learning about these boys rather than just imagining them, to be trying to solve the mystery of the call in an orderly way rather than merely by hopping on trains.

From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse


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