experiencenoun
uk/ɪkˈspɪə.ri.əns/us/ɪkˈspɪr.i.əns/B1 [ U ] (the process of getting) knowledge or skill from doing, seeing, or feeling things:
Do you have any experience of working with kids? (= Have you ever worked with them?)
The best way to learn is by experience (= by doing things).
I know from experience that Tony never keeps his promises.
I don't think she has the experience for the job (= enough knowledge and skill for it).
In my experience, people generally smile back if you smile at them.
The experience of pain (= what pain feels like) varies from one person to another.
B1 [ C ] something that happens to you that affects how you feel:
I had a pretty unpleasant experience at the dentist's.
It was interesting hearing about his experiences as a policeman.
I did meet him once and it was an experience I shall never forget.
More examples
- Fighting in Vietnam was an experience that would haunt him for the rest of his life.
- The new job will provide you with invaluable experience.
- We need someone who has experience in marketing and teaching, and I think Alex is just the woman for the job.
- A tour of Australia is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
- I know from past experience that you can't judge someone by their appearance.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Knowledge and awareness
- abroad
- acquaintance
- as every schoolboy/schoolchild knows idiom
- at/in the back of your mind idiom
- awareness
- be ahead of the game idiom
- consciousness
- firsthand
- general knowledge
- given
- grounding
- have a nodding acquaintance with sb/sth idiom
- have a passing/slight/nodding acquaintance with sth idiom
- literacy
- loop
- perception
- perceptual
- reflexivity
- schoolboy
- secret
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Idiom(s)
put it down to experience
experienceverb [ T ]
uk/ɪkˈspɪə.ri.əns/us/ɪkˈspɪr.i.əns/B1 If you experience something, it happens to you, or you feel it:
We experienced a lot of difficulty in selling our house.
New companies often experience a loss in their first few years.
It was the worst pain I'd ever experienced.
More examples
- Did you experience any ill effects from the treatment?
- It's quite natural to experience a few doubts just before you get married.
- You can't appreciate the true awfulness of war until you've actually experienced it.
- Schools nationwide are experiencing a shortage of teachers.
- He experiences severe mood swings .
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Experiencing and suffering
- afflict
- affliction
- almost/nearly die of sth idiom
- be a martyr to sth idiom
- be a victim of your own success idiom
- be devoured by sth idiom
- get the short end of the stick idiom
- go through sth
- grip
- hands-on
- hold
- hold on
- ride
- run into sth
- sample
- seat
- sense
- underwent
- ups and downs
- writhe
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