Standard Lemma guide

learning

noun · verb · 6 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • General-American: /ˈlɝnɪŋ/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈlɜːnɪŋ/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɜː(ɹ)nɪŋ
  • CMU ARPABET: L ER1 N IH0 NG Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

An act in which something is learned.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable, usually

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Accumulated knowledge.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable, usually

Examples

  • The department head was also a scholar of great learning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

Something that has been learned.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, proscribed, usually

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

verb

Meaning 4

present participle and gerund of learn

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: form-of, gerund, participle, present

Examples

  • I'm learning to ride a unicycle.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

the cognitive process of acquiring skill or knowledge

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the child's acquisition of language

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: acquisition

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: basic cognitive process

Narrower terms: conditioning, developmental learning, digestion, education, internalization, internalisation, incorporation, imprinting, language learning, memorization, memorisation, committal to memory, study, work, transfer, transfer of training, carry-over

6

noun

Meaning 6

profound scholarly knowledge

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: eruditeness, erudition, learnedness, scholarship, encyclopedism, encyclopaedism

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: education

Narrower terms: letters

History

Etymology

From Middle English lernyng, lernynge, from Old English leornung (“learning, study”), from Proto-West Germanic *liʀnungu (“learning”), equivalent to learn + -ing. Cognate with Old Saxon lernunga, German Lernung.

Across languages

Translations

94 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: تَعَلُّم (taʕallum) — action of the verb
  • Arabic: دَرْس (dars) — action of the verb
  • Armenian: սովորում (sovorum) — action of the verb
  • Armenian: ուսում (usum) — action of the verb
  • Azerbaijani: öyrənmə — action of the verb
  • Belarusian: вучэ́нне (vučénnje) — action of the verb
  • Belarusian: вучэ́ньне (vučénʹnje) — action of the verb
  • Bulgarian: у́чене (účene) — action of the verb
  • Bulgarian: уче́ние (učénie) — action of the verb
  • Catalan: aprenentatge — action of the verb
  • Chinese Cantonese: 學習 /学习 (hok6 zaap6) — action of the verb
  • Chinese Mandarin: 學習 /学习 (xuéxí) — action of the verb
  • Czech: učení — action of the verb
  • Danish: læring — action of the verb
  • Dutch: leren — action of the verb
  • Esperanto: lernado — action of the verb
  • Esperanto: lerno — action of the verb
  • Finnish: oppiminen — action of the verb
  • French: apprentissage — action of the verb
  • Georgian: სწავლა (sc̣avla) — action of the verb
  • German: Lernen — action of the verb
  • Greek: μάθηση (máthisi) — action of the verb
  • Ancient Greek: μάθησις (máthēsis) — action of the verb
  • Hindi: शिक्षा (śikṣā) — action of the verb
  • Hindi: पढ़ाई (paṛhāī) — action of the verb
  • Hungarian: tanulás — action of the verb
  • Irish: foghlaim — action of the verb
  • Irish: léann — action of the verb
  • Italian: apprendimento — action of the verb
  • Italian: insegnamento — action of the verb
  • Japanese: 学習 (gakushū) — action of the verb
  • Kazakh: оқу (oqu) — action of the verb
  • Kazakh: оқыту (oqytu) — action of the verb
  • Korean: 학습 (hakseup) — action of the verb
  • Latin: doctrina — action of the verb
  • Macedonian: учење (učenje) — action of the verb
  • Malay: belajar — action of the verb
  • Norman: apprendrie — action of the verb
  • Norwegian Bokmål: læring — action of the verb
  • Iranian Persian: یادْگیری (yâdgiri) — action of the verb
  • Iranian Persian: تَعَلُّم (ta'allom) — action of the verb
  • Iranian Persian: تَحْصیل (tahsil) — action of the verb
  • Polish: uczenie się — action of the verb
  • Portuguese: aprendizagem — action of the verb
  • Romanian: instruire — action of the verb
  • Romanian: învățare — action of the verb
  • Russian: учёба (učóba) — action of the verb
  • Russian: уче́ние (učénije) — action of the verb
  • Russian: изуче́ние (izučénije) — action of the verb
  • Russian: обуче́ние (obučénije) — action of the verb
  • Serbo-Croatian: у̀че̄ње — action of the verb
  • Serbo-Croatian: ùčēnje — action of the verb
  • Slovak: učenie — action of the verb
  • Slovene: učenje — action of the verb
  • Spanish: aprendizaje — action of the verb
  • Swedish: lärdom — action of the verb
  • Tajik: таҳсил (tahsil) — action of the verb
  • Tajik: ёдгирӣ (yodgiri) — action of the verb
  • Thai: การเรียนรู้ (gaan-riian-rúu) — action of the verb
  • Turkish: öğrenme — action of the verb
  • Ukrainian: уче́ння (učénnja) — action of the verb
  • Urdu: تَعَلُّم (ta'allum) — action of the verb
  • Urdu: پَڑْھائی (paṛhāī) — action of the verb
  • Uzbek: oʻqish — action of the verb
  • Bengali: শিক্ষা (śikkha) — accumulated knowledge
  • Bulgarian: позна́ние (poznánie) — accumulated knowledge
  • Dutch: kennis — accumulated knowledge
  • Dutch: geleerdheid — accumulated knowledge
  • Dutch: geleerde — accumulated knowledge
  • Dutch: geleerde — accumulated knowledge
  • Finnish: oppineisuus — accumulated knowledge
  • Finnish: oppi — accumulated knowledge
  • German: Gelehrsamkeit — accumulated knowledge
  • German: Kenntnis — accumulated knowledge
  • Greek: γνώση (gnósi) — accumulated knowledge
  • Greek: μόρφωση (mórfosi) — accumulated knowledge
  • Greek: πολυμάθεια (polymátheia) — accumulated knowledge
  • Hungarian: tanulás — accumulated knowledge
  • Irish: léann — accumulated knowledge
  • Italian: conoscenza — accumulated knowledge
  • Italian: formazione — accumulated knowledge
  • Latin: doctrina — accumulated knowledge
  • Malay: pembelajaran — accumulated knowledge
  • Navajo: íhooʼaah — accumulated knowledge
  • Plautdietsch: Jelieeheit — accumulated knowledge
  • Portuguese: aprendizado — accumulated knowledge
  • Romanian: învățătură — accumulated knowledge
  • Russian: уче́ние (učénije) — accumulated knowledge
  • Russian: зна́ние (znánije) — accumulated knowledge
  • Russian: учёность (učónostʹ) — accumulated knowledge
  • Russian: позна́ние (poznánije) — accumulated knowledge
  • Slovene: znanje — accumulated knowledge
  • Spanish: conocimiento — accumulated knowledge
  • Swedish: kunskap — accumulated knowledge
Real reading context

learning in complete knowledge articles