Understand
verbTo grasp the meaning of something, or to perceive the intended sense of words, ideas, or situations.
How to spell understand
10 letters · 3 syllables
How to pronounce understand
Say the part in capitals loudest.
What does understand mean?
- verbTo grasp the meaning of something, or to perceive the intended sense of words, ideas, or situations.
Understand in a sentence
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After the briefing, the staff clearly understand the new procedure.
-
I understand the instructions on the form completely.
Where does understand come from?
Language of origin: Germanic
This is a native English word, attested in Old English as understandan, a compound of under and standan ('to stand'). The literal sense is puzzling at first, because 'under' here probably does not mean 'beneath' in the usual way; scholars think it carries an older sense closer to 'among' or 'in the midst of', so to understand was to 'stand among' or 'stand close to' something, and therefore to grasp it. The same metaphor of mental grasp surfaces in other Germanic languages, though they built it differently. The word has carried its modern meaning of comprehending or perceiving the sense of something since the earliest English records, around the year 900. Its spelling is wholly transparent, two everyday words joined, which is exactly why it almost never causes trouble for adult writers.
How the word is built
- under- (among, beneath)
- stand (to stand)
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