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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:

In the coming months, trainees will be able to learn blasting and painting with virtual-reality equipment sent from South Korea—which lowers costs and exposure to hazardous fumes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2026

But there’s also something revealing about recruiting people to perform a form of labor that society has never been especially consistent about expecting everyone to learn.

From Salon ● Oct. 25, 2026

Almost as important as learning his new teammates, Doncic wanted for them to learn about him.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026

Financial advisers learn the intricacies of portfolio design, risk management and tax planning.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 23, 2026

“Because if you don’t learn how to work with your partner, you fail.”

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin

That’s why quarterbacks throwing to receivers in offseason practices are valuable as each learns about the other.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 25, 2026

By revealing the intricate connections, specialized functions, and unusual physical structure of neurons in the locus coeruleus, the research provides a more detailed picture of how the animal brain communicates and learns.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 23, 2026

Whenever a teammate needs a pep talk McKennah Iamaleava is quick to give it — a skill one learns growing up in a family full of accomplished athletes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 18, 2026

Maria soon after learns that her father, from whom she has been estranged for decades, has been murdered in an Alabama beach town, leaving her his house and worldly goods.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

She learns that I haven’t always been in Maryland, but I move great distances only when the body I’m in moves great distances.

From "Every Day" by David Levithan

By the end of Instacart’s fictional boot camp, the male recruits have learned to identify ripe bananas, read expiration dates and make sensible substitutions.

From Salon ● Oct. 25, 2026

The scientific mystery dates back to 1934, when Western researchers learned that people in Papua New Guinea sometimes experienced vivid visions of miniature humans after eating wild mushrooms.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 25, 2026

American executives quit energy startup Polar LNG, alleging they learned the company was secretly funded by Russian gas giant Novatek.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2026

After talk of lessons learned and improvements made, reality struck fast for England.

From BBC ● Oct. 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

"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

Over 15 days, they learnt to identify stars, planets and constellations, navigate the night sky, operate telescopes and photograph the Milky Way on their phones.

From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026

They learnt four dances, practised hard and rehearsed at home to prepare for the event, Fernhill House Care Home said.

From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026

"And I feel like I learnt to do that too," she says.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

“What those who wish to think amiss of me,” Jefferson pleaded, “I have learnt to be perfectly indifferent.”

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

He is reportedly now living in a Florida rehabilitation centre learning to walk again after having a leg amputated in 2025.

From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2026

The researchers then used machine learning, a form of artificial intelligence that identifies patterns in complex data, to determine whether these antibody signatures could distinguish people who would eventually develop IBD from healthy individuals.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 24, 2026

Recently my grandchildren looked through an album of photographs I had taken of their mother when she was young; in a way, they were learning about themselves, their origins.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2026

Her sister, a high school student, standing nearby, described deteriorating learning conditions, with 40 pupils per class and a lack of facilities such as laboratories, at her school.

From Barron's ● Oct. 24, 2026

Meanwhile, Lorren—who’d never stopped reeling from Rachel’s claim about Traveler’s post—was tired of watching me spin my wheels when it came to learning basic facts about the boy we talked to every day.

From "Bye Forever, I Guess" by Jodi Meadows


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