26984 words

understands

10 definitions • 23 examples
1
to know the meaning of something that someone says:

Examples:

She explained the whole idea again, but I still didn't understand.
Is there anyone here who understands Arabic?
I think he was calling from a club - it was so noisy, I couldn't understand a word he said.
2
to know why or how something happens or works:

Examples:

[ + question word ] We still don't fully understand how the brain works.
3
to know how someone feels or why someone behaves in a particular way:

Examples:

My wife doesn't understand me.
Sometimes I don't understand James.
[ + question word ] You don't understand what it's like/how it feels to have to beg on the streets.
4
to think, especially wrongly, that someone means or something is about a particular thing:

Examples:

When he said three o'clock, I understood him to mean in the afternoon.
5
When two people understand one another, they both know what the other means and wants and they have an agreement:

Examples:

I wanted to make sure that we want the same things, and that we really understand each other.
6
to know or realize something because you have been told it:

Examples:

[ + (that) ] I understand (that) you are interested in borrowing some money from us.
give someone to understand that The Director had given her to understand (= told her) that she would be promoted.
[ + obj + to infinitive ] A secret buyer is understood to have paid $1 million for the three pictures (= there is unofficial news that this has happened).
7
used when making certain that someone knows what you mean and will do as you want:

Examples:

I don't want you to see that boy again. Understand?/Do you understand?/Is that understood?
8
used to refer to something such as a rule that everyone knows and accepts:

Examples:

it is understood that In the library it is understood that people should talk quietly.
9
to know the meaning of something, or to know how a person feels and why the person behaves in a particular way:

Examples:

[ + question word ] I don’t understand what he means.
[ T ] Is there anyone here who understands English?
[ T ] It was so noisy I couldn’t understand (= recognize) a word he was saying.
[ I ] If you choose not to come, I’ll understand.
[ T ] He claimed that no one ever understood him (= had any sympathy for him or knew what he was feeling).
[ + question word ] I understand how she feels about the loss of her dog.
[ T ] It is understood that (= Everyone knows and accepts that) you don’t bring food or drinks into the library.
10
to believe something is true because you have been told something that causes you to think it:

Examples:

[ + (that) clause ] I understand (that) the show will go on, but with a different cast.
I understood him to say (= I believed that he said) that the trip had been canceled.

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