to learn something

  • 1learn something at your mother's knee — learn (something) at your mother s knee : to learn (something) when you are very young I learned to speak French at my mother s knee. • • • Main Entry: ↑knee learn (something) at your mother s knee see ↑knee, 1 …

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  • 2learn something the hard way — learn (something) the hard way to obtain knowledge or understanding through experience. We d never done anything like this, so we learned how to build a house the hard way. Since he won t take advice from anyone, I guess he is going to have to… …

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  • 3learn something off pat — learn (something) off pat British, American & Australian, American to learn something so well that you do not have to think about how to do or say it. All the answers he d learned off pat for the interview sounded unconvincing now …

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  • 4learn (something) (off) by heart — know/learn (something) (off) by heart if you know or learn something, especially a piece of writing, by heart, you know or learn it so that you can remember it perfectly. He s my favourite poet. I know several of his poems by heart …

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  • 5learn (something) the hard way — ˌlearn (sth) the ˈhard way idiom to find out how to behave by learning from your mistakes or from unpleasant experiences, rather than from being told Main entry: ↑learnidiom …

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  • 6learn something to your cost — know/learn/find sth to your ˈcost idiom to know sth because of sth unpleasant that has happened to you • He s a ruthless businessman, as I know to my cost. Main entry: ↑costidiom …

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  • 7learn — [ lɜrn ] (past tense and past participle learned [ lɜrnt ] ) verb *** 1. ) intransitive or transitive to gain knowledge or experience of something, for example by being taught: a bright girl who is already learning the alphabet research into how… …

    Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • 8learn — W1S1 [lə:n US lə:rn] v past tense and past participle learned or learnt [lə:nt US lə:rnt] especially BrE ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1¦(subject/skill)¦ 2¦(find out)¦ 3¦(remember)¦ 4¦(change your behaviour)¦ 5 somebody has learned their lesson 6 learn (something) the …

    Dictionary of contemporary English

  • 9learn at your mother's knee — learn (something) at your mother s knee : to learn (something) when you are very young I learned to speak French at my mother s knee. • • • Main Entry: ↑knee learn (something) at your mother s knee see ↑knee, 1 …

    Useful english dictionary

  • 10learn the hard way — learn (something) the hard way to obtain knowledge or understanding through experience. We d never done anything like this, so we learned how to build a house the hard way. Since he won t take advice from anyone, I guess he is going to have to… …

    New idioms dictionary