n. 1. The apprehension of an object, thought, or emotion through the senses or mind: a child's first experience of snow. 2. a. Active participation in events or activities, leading to the accumulation of knowledge or skill: a lesson taught by experience; a carpenter with experience in roof repair. b. The knowledge or skill so derived. 3. a. An event or a series of events participated in or lived through. b. The totality of such events in the past of an individual or group. tr.v. ex·per·i·enced, ex·per·i·enc·ing, ex·per·i·enc·es To participate in personally; undergo: experience a great adventure; experienced loneliness. [Middle English, from Old French, from Latin experientia, from experiēns, experient-, present participle of experīrī, to try; see per-3 in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] ex·peri·enc·er n. |
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