learner

UK: /ˈlɜː^rnə^r/ US: (lûr′nər)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

learn•er  (lûr′nər), n. 

1. a person who is learning;
   student;
   pupil;
   apprentice;
   trainee.

• bef. 1000; Middle English lerner(e), Old English leornere; see learn, -er¹

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

learner / ˈlɜːnə/ noun

1. someone who is learning something; beginner
2. (in South Africa) a school pupil

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

learn /lɜrn/   v., learned /lɜrnd/   or learnt/lɜrnt/  learn•ing. 
v. 

1. to gain or acquire knowledge of or skill in (something) by study, instruction, or experience: [~ + object]
   to learn a new language.
   [~ + (how) to + verb]
   Where did you learn (how) to throw a ball like that?
   [no object]
   She learns quickly.
2. to become informed of or acquainted with;
   find out: [~ + object]
   to learn the truth.
   [~ + (that) clause]
   I learned that he was a sailor only last week.
   [~ + about/of + object]
   When did you learn about his past?
3. to memorize:
   [~ + object] He learned the poem in ten minutes.
4. to gain by experience, exposure to example, or the like:
   [~ + object] She learned patience from her father.
5. Slang Terms [Nonstandard.] to teach:
   [~ + object + object] learned him a lesson he won't forget.

learn•er, n. [countable]

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

learn  (lûrn), v., learned (lûrnd) or learnt, learn•ing. 
v.t. 

1. to acquire knowledge of or skill in by study, instruction, or experience:
   to learn French; to learn to ski.
2. to become informed of or acquainted with;
   ascertain:
   to learn the truth.
3. to memorize:
   He learned the poem so he could recite it at the dinner.
4. to gain (a habit, mannerism, etc.) by experience, exposure to example, or the like;
   acquire:
   She learned patience from her father.
5. Computing (of a device or machine, esp. a computer) to perform an analogue of human learning with artificial intelligence.
6. Slang Terms [Nonstandard.] to instruct in;
   teach.

v.i. 

7. to acquire knowledge or skill:
   to learn rapidly.
8. to become informed (usually fol. by of ):
   to learn of an accident.

• bef. 900; Middle English lernen, Old English leornian to learn, read, ponder (cognate with German lernen); akin to lesan to glean (cognate with German lesen to read). See lear

learn′a•ble, adj. 
Synonyms

• 1. Learn, ascertain, detect, discover imply adding to one's store of facts. 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.
  To 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.