lesson

1 of 2

noun

les·​son ˈle-sᵊn 

1

: a passage from sacred writings read in a service of worship

2

a

: a piece of instruction

b

: a reading or exercise to be studied by a pupil

c

: a division of a course of instruction

3

a

: something learned by study or experience

his years of travel had taught him valuable lessons

b

: an instructive example

the lessons of history

c

: reprimand

lesson

2 of 2

verb

lessoned; lessoning ˈle-sə-niŋ 

ˈles-niŋ

transitive verb

1

: to give a lesson to : instruct

2

: lecture, rebuke

Synonyms

Noun

• assignment
• reading
• homework

Verb

• teach
• educate

Examples of lesson in a Sentence

Noun

You can't go out to play until you've finished your lessons.

The book is divided into 12 lessons.

She took piano lessons for years.

political leaders who have failed to learn the lessons of history

I've learned my lesson—I'll never do that again!

Let that be a lesson to you—if you don't take better care of your toys they'll get broken!

Verb

would tirelessly lesson the children in proper manners

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Learning new methods of connecting with students Velasco began experimenting with incorporating activities into his lesson plans. —Erick Trevino, AZCentral.com, 7 Sep. 2025

Here, too, there's a sustainability lesson. —Christopher Elliott, Forbes.com, 6 Sep. 2025

Verb

Even the mighty United States learned that lesson the hard way over the 22 years from 1949 to 1971, when Washington pretended that the Nationalist regime headquartered in Taipei constituted the legitimate government of mainland China. —David Frum, The Atlantic, 14 Aug. 2025

Luckily increasing trust, governance and training can lesson effort and increase motivation for adoption. —Lindsay Kohler, Forbes.com, 21 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, from Anglo-French leçon, from Late Latin lection-, lectio, from Latin, act of reading, from legere to read — more at legend

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1555, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing lesson

• object lesson
• teach (someone) a lesson

Rhymes for lesson

• cresson
• lessen
• delicatessen
• vasopressin

Kids Definition

lesson

noun

les·​son

ˈles-ᵊn

1

: a part of the Scripture read in a church service

2

a

: a reading or exercise assigned to be studied

b

: something learned by study or experience