experience definition - Dictionary

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experience

ex·pe·ri·ence [ ik spree ənss ]

noun (plural ex·pe·ri·enc·es)

Definition:

1. involvement in something over time: active involvement in an activity or exposure to events or people over a period of time that leads to an increase in knowledge or skill

Experience is the best teacher.

2. knowledge or skill acquired: knowledge or skill gained through being involved in or exposed to something over a period of time

Paper qualifications are no substitute for real-life experience.

3. sum total of somebody's experiences: the sum total of the things that have happened to a person and of his or her past thoughts and feelings

Nothing quite like this has ever been done before, at least not in my experience.

4. something that happens to somebody: something that happens to somebody or an event that somebody is involved in

an experience that changed his life

5. philosophy knowledge from observation: knowledge acquired through the senses, and not through abstract reasoning

transitive verb (past and past participle ex·pe·ri·enced, present participle ex·pe·ri·enc·ing, 3rd person present singular ex·pe·ri·enc·es)

Definition:

1. have personal knowledge of something: to be exposed to, involved in, or affected by something

the most thrilling ride I've ever experienced

2. feel something: to feel a particular sensation or emotion

experience a tingling sensation

[14th century. Via French< Latin experientia< experiri "try out"]

Cultural Note


	Songs of Experience, a collection of poems (1794) by the British writer William Blake. Blake's Songs of Innocence (1789) described the world from the optimistic viewpoint of an innocent child. In this, its adult counterpart, he portrays a world of disease, poverty, and irredeemable corruption. The collection includes perhaps his best-known poem, "The Tyger.".