experience

1 of 2

noun

ex·​pe·​ri·​ence ik-ˈspir-ē-ən(t)s 

1

a

: direct observation of or participation in events as a basis of knowledge

b

: the fact or state of having been affected by or gained knowledge through direct observation or participation

2

a

: practical knowledge, skill, or practice derived from direct observation of or participation in events or in a particular activity

b

: the length of such participation

has 10 years' experience in the job

3

: something personally encountered, undergone, or lived through

4

a

: the conscious events that make up an individual life

b

: the events that make up the conscious past of a community or nation or humankind generally

5

: the act or process of directly perceiving events or reality

experience

2 of 2

verb

experienced; experiencing

transitive verb

1

: to have experience of : undergo

experienced severe hardships as a child

2

: to learn by experience (see experience entry 1)

I have experienced that a landscape and the sky unfold the deepest beauty

—Nathaniel Hawthorne

Synonyms

Noun

• skills
• expertise
• proficiency

Verb

• undergo
• have
• endure
• see
• feel
• know
• witness
• taste

Examples of experience in a Sentence

Noun

Human experience is the ultimate source and justification for all knowledge. Experience itself has accumulated in human memory and culture, gradually producing the methods of intelligence called "reason" and "science." —John Shook, Free Inquiry, April/May 2008

Almost as charismatic as the ivory-bill, the California condor passed through a near-death experience and is today regaining a tentative foothold in parts of its erstwhile range. —John Terborgh, New York Review of Books, 26 Apr. 2007

Many of his students have plenty of life experience but … never mastered the academic stuff at school. —Daryl Crimp, New Zealand Geographic, March/April 2007

In the energetic, speculative, socially mobile urban society of the early 18th century, maternal impression, the idea that a child's appearance was directed by the mother's experiences, found advocates among London physicians as easily as it did among myth-fed country fold. —Miranda Seymour, New York Times Book Review, 17 June 2007

Literary London was not merely a great gathering of experiences for [Samuel] Johnson, but a veritable public stew of good words. —Andrew O'Hagan, New York Review, 27 Apr. 2006

The best way to learn is by experience.

We need someone with experience.

She gained a lot of experience at that job.

I know that from personal experience.

She has five years' experience as a computer programmer.

He wrote about his experiences as a pilot.

That experience is one I'd rather forget!

She had a frightening experience.

Verb

Performing a risk-reward analysis can often clarify decisions. If the risk of a failed marriage is that you may have to experience heartache and an expensive divorce, you'd better think carefully. If the risk of a bad ski run is that you'll die, you'd better think even more carefully about what you'll gain by taking that risk. —Laurence Gonzales, National Geographic Adventure, March 2008

Of course, many reporters do their best to be accurate, but they must conform to the conventions of their craft, and there is always slippage between their choice of words and the nature of an event as experienced or perceived by others. —Robert Darnton, New York Review of Books, 12 June 2008

I spent 20-some years as a foreign correspondent and experienced my share of harrowing travel.  … And unlike the brave foreign correspondents that you see on TV or read about …  , I was scared silly. —P. J. O'Rourke, Forbes Life, June 2008

That was one of the worst days I've ever experienced.

The patient has been experiencing pain in her left shoulder.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Created and executive produced by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Tim Minear, 9-1-1 explores the high-pressure experiences of first responders — including police officers, firefighters and dispatchers — who are thrust into the most frightening and shocking conditions. —Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 13 Aug. 2025

The winner will have the ability to choose from several Disney experiences including; Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Aulani, or a Disney Cruise Line vacation. —Gabrielle Chenault, The Tennessean, 13 Aug. 2025

Verb

What would need to happen for people to experience their leisure as being in no way connected to labor? —Julie Beck, The Atlantic, 14 Aug. 2025

In Baltimore, officials announced in July that the city experienced a 23% decrease in homicides and a 20% drop in non-fatal shootings during the first half of the year as compared with 2024, and the number of homicides through June is the lowest it’s been in more than 50 years. —Alison Durkee, Forbes.com, 14 Aug. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, borrowed from Anglo-French, borrowed from Latin experientia "testing of possibilities, participation in events, skill gained by practice," noun derivative of experient-, experiens, present participle of experīrī "to put to the test, attempt, have experience of, undergo," from ex- ex- entry 1 + -perīrī, from a presumed verbal base *per- "test, risk," perhaps going back to Indo-European *pr̥h₃-i-

Note: See note at peril entry 1.

Verb

verbal derivative of experience entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1580, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Phrases Containing experience

• life experience
• long experience
• near-death experience
• out-of-body experience
• re-experience
• work experience

Rhymes for experience

• inexperience

Kids Definition

experience

1 of 2 noun

ex·​pe·​ri·​ence ik-ˈspir-ē-ən(t)s 

1

: the actual living through an event or series of events

learn by experience

2

a

: skill or knowledge gained by actually doing or feeling a thing

a job that requires someone with experience

had gained a lot of experience by the end of the season

b

: the amount of such skill or knowledge

has five years' experience

3

: something one has actually done or lived through

my experiences as a riverboat pilot

experience

2 of 2 verb

experienced; experiencing

: to have experience of : undergo

experienced many hardships as a child