learn
[verb]
Synonyms:
- master, grasp, pick up
- memorize, commit to memory, get off pat, learn by heart
- discover, ascertain, detect, discern, find out, gather, hear, understand

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Related Idioms: make oneself master of
Related Words: con, peruse, study

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English Thesaurus: learn, study, train, pick something up, get the hang of something, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

learn S1 W1 /lɜːn $ lɜːrn/ verb (past tense and past participle learned or learnt /lɜːnt $ lɜːrnt/ especially British English)
[Word Family: noun: learner, learning, unlearn; verb: learn; adverb: learnedly; adjective: learned]
[Language: Old English; Origin: leornian]

1. SUBJECT/SKILL [intransitive and transitive] to gain knowledge of a subject or skill, by experience, by studying it, or by being taught ⇒ teach:
What’s the best way to learn a language?
learn (how) to do something
I learnt to drive when I was 17.
Hector spent the winter learning how to cope with his blindness.
The teacher’s task is to help the pupil learn.
learn (something) from somebody
I learned a lot from my father.
learn about
Kids can have fun and learn about music at the same time.
learn what
Youngsters must learn what is dangerous and what is not to be feared.
The student will learn from experience about the importance of planning.
► Do not say that you ‘learn someone something’ or ‘learn someone how to do something’. Use teach: I taught him how to send an email.

2. FIND OUT [intransitive and transitive] formal to find out information or news by hearing it from someone else or reading it Synonym : discover:
I didn’t tell her the truth. She would learn it for herself soon enough.
learn of/about
He learned about his appointment by telephone yesterday.
learn (that)
Last week I learned that I was pregnant.
She was surprised to learn that he was a lot older than she had thought.
learn whether/who/why
I waited to learn whether I’d secured a college place.
We have yet to learn who will be the new manager.

3. REMEMBER [transitive] to get to know something so well that you can easily remember it Synonym : memorize:
The actors hardly had time to learn their lines before filming started.

4. CHANGE YOUR BEHAVIOUR [intransitive and transitive] to gradually understand a situation and start behaving in the way that you should
learn (that)
They have to learn that they can’t just do whatever they like.
learn to do something
Young hairdressers must learn to treat the client as a person, not a head of hair.
I’ve told him a hundred times not to bully people, but he never learns.
learn from
You have to learn from your mistakes (=understand why what you did was wrong).
the lessons learned in the Gulf War

5. somebody has learned their lesson used to say that someone will not do something wrong or stupid again, because they suffered as a result:
I’ve learned my lesson; I’ve now got a burglar alarm and a guard dog.

6. learn (something) the hard way to understand a situation or develop a skill by learning from your mistakes and bad experiences

7. that’ll learn somebody! spoken used when something bad has just happened to someone as a result of their actions, especially when they ignored a warning
⇒ live and learn at live¹(20)

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

learn
verb
I. gain knowledge/skill
ADV. a lot I learned a lot from my father.
quickly, soon Children learn very quickly. They soon learn that bad behaviour is a sure-fire way of getting attention.
VERB + LEARN need to | be eager to, want to He was eager to learn all she could teach him.
have a lot to I've got a lot to learn, haven't I?
PREP. about learning about art
from She learned from watching others.
through Children learn through play.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

learn
II. become aware
VERB + LEARN be astonished to, be astounded to, be intrigued to, be surprised to I was surprised to learn that he was only 24.
be dismayed to, be saddened to
PREP. of We first learned of the problem from her school.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

learn
verb
1.
BAD: In the museum I learned Balinese culture.
GOOD: In the museum I learned about Balinese culture.

Usage Note:
learn a foreign language: 'How long have you been learning Italian?'
learn about a subject: 'Today we've been learning about the functions of the human brain.'

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2.
See KNOWLEDGE 2 (knowledge)

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲

learn to gain knowledge of a subject or skill, especially by being taught or trained:
How long have you been learning Italian?
What age can you learn to drive in America?
study to learn about a subject by reading books, going to classes etc, especially at school or university:
She’s studying music at Berkeley College in California.
train to learn the skills and get the experience that you need in order to do a particular job:
Julie’s training to be a nurse.
pick something up to learn something without much effort, by watching or listening to other people:
It’s easy to pick up a language when you’re living in a country.
The rules of the game are easy – you’ll soon pick them up.
get the hang of something informal to learn how to do or use something that is fairly complicated, especially with practice:
It took me a while to get the hang of all the features on my new camera.
revise British English, review American English to study facts again, especially on your own, in order to learn them before an examination:
Jenny’s upstairs revising for her Maths exam tomorrow.
master to learn something so well that you have no difficulty with it, especially a skill or a language:
She gave me a book called ‘Mastering the Art of French Cooking’.
I learnt Spanish for years but I never really mastered it.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

learn
lə:n
See: live and learn

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲