experience

English Online Dictionary. What means experience‎? What does experience mean?

English

Etymology

From Middle English experience, from Old French, from Latin experientia (“a trial, proof, experiment, experimental knowledge, experience”), from experiens, present participle of experiri (“to try, put to the test, undertake, undergo”), from ex (“out”) + peritus (“experienced, expert”), past participle of *periri (“to go through”); see expert and peril. Displaced native Old English āfandung (“experience”) and āfandian (“to experience”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɪkˈspɪə.ɹɪəns/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ɪkˈspɪɹ.i.əns/
• Hyphenation: ex‧pe‧ri‧ence

Noun

experience (countable and uncountable, plural experiences)

1. The effect upon the judgment or feelings produced by any event, whether witnessed or participated in; personal and direct impressions as contrasted with description or fancies; personal acquaintance; actual enjoyment or suffering.
   • March 20, 1684-5, John Sharp, Sermon preached at Whitehall

     Those that undertook the religion of our Savior upon his preaching, had no experience of it.
2. (countable) An activity one has performed.
3. (usually uncountable) A collection of events and/or activities from which an individual or group may gather knowledge, opinions, and skills.
4. (uncountable) The knowledge thus gathered.
5. (obsolete, uncountable) Trial; a test or experiment.

Usage notes

Antonyms

• inexperience

Hyponyms

• (activity one has performed): user experience

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

experience (third-person singular simple present experiences, present participle experiencing, simple past and past participle experienced)

1. (transitive) To observe certain events; undergo a certain feeling or process; or perform certain actions that may alter one or contribute to one's knowledge, opinions, or skills.

Synonyms

• undergo

Derived terms

• experienceable
• nonexperiencing
• re-experience. reexperience

Translations

References

• “experience”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• experience in Keywords for Today: A 21st Century Vocabulary, edited by The Keywords Project, Colin MacCabe, Holly Yanacek, 2018.
• "experience" in Raymond Williams, Keywords (revised), 1983, Fontana Press, page 126.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “experience”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
• “experience”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Further reading

• experience on Wikipedia.Wikipedia