experience

noun

UK /ɪkˈspɪəriəns/

Word Forms

singular	experience
plural	experiences

1
uncountable knowledge and skill that is gained through time spent doing a job or activity
You don’t need any experience to work here.
We would like to find someone with more experience.
business/teaching experience
limited/considerable/extensive experience
have experience (in something):
She has years of experience in the computer industry.
experience with:
Do you have any previous experience with children?
experience as:
We’re looking for someone with experience as a teacher.
get/gain experience:
You need to get more management experience.
Synonyms and related words
Knowledge and understanding
knowledge
understanding
information
Synonyms and related words
Skill, talent and ability
experience
ability
skill
2
uncountable the knowledge that you get from life and from being in a lot of different situations
Experience told me not to believe him.
from past/previous/personal experience:
Helen knew from past experience that there was no point in arguing with him.
in someone’s experience:
In my experience, very intelligent people can still make terrible mistakes.
Synonyms and related words
Knowledge and understanding
knowledge
understanding
information
3
countable something that happens to you, or a situation that you are involved in
our childhood experiences
have an experience:
A lot of the people we talked to had had the same experience.
experience of/with:
It was her first experience of dealing with people from another culture.
experience for:
The whole thing must have been an interesting experience for you.
a bad/strange/traumatic etc experience:
I had a bad experience in the last place I worked.
share your experiences of something (=tell people about them):
an opportunity for people to share their experiences of living with the disease
Synonyms and related words
General words for situations and circumstances
situation
circumstance
conditions

experience

noun

US /ɪkˈspɪriəns/

Word Forms

singular	experience
plural	experiences

1
uncountable knowledge and skill that is gained through time spent doing a job or activity
You don’t need any experience to work here.
We would like to find someone with more experience.
business/teaching experience
limited/considerable/extensive experience
have experience (in something):
She has years of experience in the computer industry.
experience with:
Do you have any previous experience with children?
experience as:
We’re looking for someone with experience as a teacher.
get/gain experience:
You need to get more management experience.
Synonyms and related words
Knowledge and understanding
knowledge
understanding
information
Synonyms and related words
Skill, talent and ability
skill
talent
ability
2
uncountable the knowledge that you get from life and from being in a lot of different situations
Experience told me not to believe him.
from past/previous/personal experience:
Helen knew from past experience that there was no point in arguing with him.
in someone’s experience:
In my experience, very intelligent people can still make terrible mistakes.
Synonyms and related words
Knowledge and understanding
knowledge
understanding
information
3
countable something that happens to you, or a situation that you are involved in
our childhood experiences
have an experience:
A lot of the people we talked to had had the same experience.
experience of/with:
It was her first experience of dealing with people from another culture.
experience for:
The whole thing must have been an interesting experience for you.
a bad/strange/traumatic etc. experience:
I had a bad experience in the last place I worked.
share your experiences of something (=tell people about them):
an opportunity for people to share their experiences of living with the disease
Synonyms and related words
General words for situations and circumstances
situation
circumstance
conditions

experience

verb transitive

UK /ɪkˈspɪəriəns/

Word Forms

present tense
I/you/we/they	experience
he/she/it	experiences
present participle	experiencing
past tense	experienced
past participle	experienced

1
if you experience a problem or a situation, you have that problem or are in that situation
the discrimination experienced by older people
experience difficulty/problems:
The publishing industry is experiencing the same problems at the moment.
experience something at first hand (=experience something directly, rather than hearing about it):
At the Chans’ house I experienced Chinese hospitality at first hand.
Synonyms and related words
To experience something
experience
undergo
encounter
2
to feel an emotion or a physical feeling
Are you experiencing any pain?
It was the most wonderful feeling she had ever experienced.
Synonyms and related words
To feel an emotion
feel
experience
give up to

experience

verb transitive

US /ɪkˈspɪriəns/

Word Forms

present tense
I/you/we/they	experience
he/she/it	experiences
present participle	experiencing
past tense	experienced
past participle	experienced

1
if you experience a problem or a situation, you have that problem or are in that situation
the discrimination experienced by older people
experience difficulty/problems:
The publishing industry is experiencing the same problems at the moment.
experience something first hand (=experience something directly, instead of hearing about it):
At the Chans’ house I experienced Chinese hospitality first hand.
Synonyms and related words
To experience something
experience
undergo
encounter
2
to feel an emotion or a physical feeling
Are you experiencing any pain?
It was the most wonderful feeling she had ever experienced.
Synonyms and related words
To feel an emotion
feel
experience
give up to

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