English Reference
noun · verb

experience

n. · v.
US /ɪkˈspɪɹiəns/ UK /ɛkspˈiəɹɪəns/ ex·pe·ri·ence UK spelling experiences

  1. 01 A2 Elementary

    n.the knowledge or skill you get from doing a job or activity for a long time.

    n.the accumulated knowledge or skill resulting from direct participation in events or activities. Uncountable in this sense.

    Simple

    The company is looking for a manager with at least five years of experience in sales.

    In context

    The candidate possesses extensive experience in international law, having spent over a decade navigating complex cross-border disputes for various non-governmental organisations.

    Pitfall
    I have many experiences in marketing. I have a lot of experience in marketing.

    When talking about professional skills or time spent in a field, 'experience' is uncountable and should not be plural.

  2. 02 A2 Elementary

    n.something that happens to you, or an activity you have done.

    n.a particular instance of personally encountering or undergoing something. Countable in this sense.

    Simple

    Traveling alone through Europe was a wonderful experience that I will never forget.

    In context

    Living abroad for a year was a transformative experience that fundamentally altered her perspective on global politics and social responsibility.

  3. 03 B1 Intermediate

    v.to have something happen to you, or to feel a specific emotion.

    v.to undergo, feel, or be the subject of a particular event or emotion. Transitive — takes a direct object.

    Simple

    Many people experience a bit of stress when they start a new job.

    In context

    Patients may experience mild side effects, such as dizziness or fatigue, during the first few days of the new medication cycle.

  4. 04 B2 Upper Intermediate Informal Computing

    n.points that a character earns in a game to become stronger.

    n.a measure of a character's progress in a role-playing game, often abbreviated as XP.

    Simple

    You need to defeat more monsters to gain enough experience to reach the next level.

    In context

    The player spent hours grinding in the lower dungeons to accumulate the experience necessary to unlock the advanced skill tree.

    experience pointsXP
Don't confuse

experience vs experiment — Experience is the knowledge you gain from living through events, while an experiment is a controlled test to see if an idea is true.

Usage experience of my life · experience working · experiences of people


From Middle English experience, from Old French, from Latin experientia (“a trial, proof, experiment, experimental knowledge, experience”), from experiens, present participle of experiri (“to try, put to the test, undertake, undergo”), from ex (“out”) + peritus (“experienced, expert”), past participle of *periri (“to go through”); see expert and peril. Displaced native Old English āfandung (“experience”) and āfandian (“to experience”).

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Origin Latin experientia
Level A2 · Elementary
Frequency Very common
Updated