Definitions for understand
ˌʌn dərˈstændun·der·stand

Princeton's WordNet(1.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. understandverb

   know and comprehend the nature or meaning of

   "She did not understand her husband"; "I understand what she means"

2. understand, realize, realise, seeverb

   perceive (an idea or situation) mentally

   "Now I see!"; "I just can't see your point"; "Does she realize how important this decision is?"; "I don't understand the idea"

3. understand, read, interpret, translateverb

   make sense of a language

   "She understands French"; "Can you read Greek?"

4. understand, inferverb

   believe to be the case

   "I understand you have no previous experience?"

5. sympathize, sympathise, empathize, empathise, understandverb

   be understanding of

   "You don't need to explain--I understand!"

Wiktionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. understandverb

   To be aware of the meaning of.

   Etymology: From understanden, from understandan, from under + standanan, equivalent to under- + standan. Cognate with understunda, understantan, Middle understande. Compare also onderstaan, unterstehen. More at inter-, stand.

2. understandverb

   To believe, based on information.

   I understand that you have information for me.

   Etymology: From understanden, from understandan, from under + standanan, equivalent to under- + standan. Cognate with understunda, understantan, Middle understande. Compare also onderstaan, unterstehen. More at inter-, stand.

3. understandverb

   To impute meaning, character etc. that is not explicitly stated.

   Etymology: From understanden, from understandan, from under + standanan, equivalent to under- + standan. Cognate with understunda, understantan, Middle understande. Compare also onderstaan, unterstehen. More at inter-, stand.

4. understandverb

   To apply values (axioms).

   Etymology: From understanden, from understandan, from under + standanan, equivalent to under- + standan. Cognate with understunda, understantan, Middle understande. Compare also onderstaan, unterstehen. More at inter-, stand.

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Understandverb

   to have just and adequate ideas of; to apprehended the meaning or intention of; to have knowledge of; to comprehend; to know; as, to understand a problem in Euclid; to understand a proposition or a declaration; the court understands the advocate or his argument; to understand the sacred oracles; to understand a nod or a wink

2. Understandverb

   to be apprised, or have information, of; to learn; to be informed of; to hear; as, I understand that Congress has passed the bill

3. Understandverb

   to recognize or hold as being or signifying; to suppose to mean; to interpret; to explain

4. Understandverb

   to mean without expressing; to imply tacitly; to take for granted; to assume

5. Understandverb

   to stand under; to support

6. Understandverb

   to have the use of the intellectual faculties; to be an intelligent being

7. Understandverb

   to be informed; to have or receive knowledge

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Understand

   un-dėr-stand′, v.t. to comprehend: to have just ideas of: to know thoroughly: to be informed of: to learn: to suppose to mean: to mean without expressing: to imply.—v.i. to have the use of the intellectual faculties: to be informed: to learn.—adj. Understan′dable.—p.adj. Understan′ded (obs.), understood (with of).—n. Understan′ding, the act of comprehending: the faculty or the act of the mind by which it understands or thinks: the power to understand: knowledge: exact comprehension: agreement of minds: harmony.—adj. knowing, skilful.—adv. Understan′dingly.—Understands′, in Scotch Version of Psalms, used for Understandest. [A.S. understandan, to stand under or in the midst of a thing.]

Editors Contribution(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. understand

   To feel and know intuitively.

   They did understand the nature of their love, unity and engagement and knew their marriage was for life.

   Submitted by MaryC on February 15, 2020  

2. understand

   To perceive intuitively through the brain, conscience, consciousness, heart, mind, spirit, soul and subconscious.

   We do understand each other and trust the unity of our soul and love.

   Submitted by MaryC on February 15, 2020  

Matched Categories

1. • Believe

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'understand' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #676

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'understand' in Written Corpus Frequency: #456

3. Verbs Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'understand' in Verbs Frequency: #91

How to pronounce understand?

1. Alex

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

How to say understand in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of understand in Chaldean Numerology is: 3

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of understand in Pythagorean Numerology is: 3

Examples of understand in a Sentence

1. Barack Obama:

   Beau Biden was an original. He was a good man. A man of character. A man who loved deeply and was loved in return, to know Joe and the rest of the Biden family is to understand why Beau lived the life he did.

2. Ben Schlappig:

   Frankly, I have a hard time maintaining relationships even when I'm in the same place, so it's hard, but my good friends understand what I do. As for romantic relationships, it's a little more difficult.

3. Kenneth A. Wells:

   A good listener tries to understand what the other person is saying. In the end he may disagree sharply, but because he disagrees, he wants to know exactly what it is he is disagreeing with.

4. Abu Hurriya:

   I don't justify it because I don't think you can justify it, but at the end of the day I understand how they can get to that point. They're young and vulnerable. It's the same way that a kid in the ghetto joins a gang.

5. Adam Schiff:

   As I understand it, this particular conversation for which they were claiming privilege took place after the emails became public, and, was therefore focused more on the reaction to the publication of the emails.

Images & Illustrations of understand

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