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Definitions

understand

[uhn-der-stand] / ˌʌn dərˈstænd /




Usage

What are other ways to say understand? To understand is to be fully aware not only of the meaning of something but also of its implications: I could comprehend all he said, but did not understand that he was joking. To know is to be aware of something as a fact or truth: He knows the basic facts of the subject. I know that he agrees with me. To comprehend is to know something thoroughly and to perceive its relationships to certain other ideas, facts, etc. 

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.

In this case, that means shrinking gigantic numbers down to basic words that anyone can understand: a million, a billion, a trillion.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 11, 2026

Sometimes it took one or two times to understand what they were saying.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 11, 2026

Ahead of SpaceX’s blockbuster IPO on Friday, many investors have closely scrutinized the company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission to understand how the business is doing.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 11, 2026

To understand the observations, the researchers ran computer simulations of heat transport in the upper atmosphere of a gas giant.

From Science Daily • Jun. 11, 2026

Lafayette says, “Try to relax. And remember, all these events have already happened. You can’t change them. All you can do is try to understand them.”

From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold




Vocabulary lists containing understand


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