experience
[noun]
Synonyms:
- knowledge, contact, exposure, familiarity, involvement, participation, practice, training
- event, adventure, affair, encounter, episode, happening, incident, occurrence
[verb]
Synonyms:
- undergo, encounter, endure, face, feel, go through, live through, sample, taste

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Antonyms: inexperience
Related Words: background, observation, know-how, practice, skill, savoir faire, sophistication, wisdom, encounter, meet, accept, receive, behold, see, survey, view

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. ex‧pe‧ri‧ence¹ S1 W1 /ɪkˈspɪəriəns $ -ˈspɪr-/ noun
[Word Family: verb: experience; noun: experience ≠ inexperience; adjective: experienced ≠ inexperienced]
[Date: 1300-1400; Language: French; Origin: Latin experientia 'act of trying', from experiri 'to try out']

1. KNOWLEDGE/SKILL [uncountable] knowledge or skill that you gain from doing a job or activity, or the process of doing this
experience of/in/with
You’ve got a lot of experience of lecturing.
my experience in many areas of the music business
He had no previous experience of managing a farm.
The advice in the booklet reflects the practical experience we have gained (=experience gained by actually doing something, rather than knowledge from books etc).
I had some experience in fashion design.
She was turned down on the grounds of lack of experience.
I have first-hand experience (=experience gained by doing something myself) of running a school.
gain/get experience
The programme enables pupils to gain some experience of the world of work.

2. KNOWLEDGE OF LIFE [uncountable] knowledge that you gain about life and the world by being in different situations and meeting different people, or the process of gaining this
in sb’s experience
In his experience, women did not like getting their feet wet and muddy.
know/learn/speak from experience
Being a parent isn’t easy, as I know from experience.
All animals appear to have some capacity to learn from experience.
I speak from bitter experience (=having learnt something because something unpleasant happened).
personal/previous/past experience
From personal experience, she knew and understood the problems of alcohol addiction.
experience shows/suggests that
Beth’s experience suggests that people don’t really change deep down.

3. SOMETHING THAT HAPPENS [countable] something that happens to you or something you do, especially when this has an effect on what you feel or think:
childhood experiences
experience of/with
This was my first experience of living with other people.
experience for
Failing an exam was a new experience for me.
I had a similar experience last year.
The two children in this story have been through a lot of bad experiences.
Parachuting is quite an experience.
memorable/unforgettable experience
This romantic evening cruise is a memorable experience.
religious experience (=a situation in which you feel, hear, or see something that affects you strongly and makes you believe in God)
This kind of religious experience was a sign of God’s special favour.

4. the black/female/Russian etc experience events or knowledge shared by the members of a particular society or group of people:
No writer expresses the black experience with such passion as Toni Morisson.

5. work experience British English a system in which a student can work for a company in order to learn about a job, or the period during which a student does this:
Ella is about to do work experience with a clothing manufacturer.
on work experience
students on work experience

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. experience² S2 W2 verb [transitive]
[Word Family: verb: experience; noun: experience ≠ inexperience; adjective: experienced ≠ inexperienced]

1. if you experience a problem, event, or situation, it happens to you or affects you
experience problems/difficulties
Many old people will experience problems as the result of retirement.
Children need to experience things for themselves in order to learn from them.

2. to feel a particular emotion, pain etc:
Many women experience feelings of nausea during pregnancy.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

experience
noun
I. knowledge/skill got from seeing/doing sth
ADJ. considerable, long, wide | good, invaluable, relevant, unrivalled, valuable She didn't get paid much but it was all good experience. Both candidates for the presidency were short of relevant experience. Rolls Royce's unrivalled experience in high technology manufacturing
previous Do you have any previous experience of this type of work?
direct, first-hand, hands-on, practical the importance of hands-on experience as well as academic training
professional, work
VERB + EXPERIENCE have | lack | gain, get | broaden She wanted to broaden her experience in international affairs.
PREP. ~ of She has considerable professional experience of translation.
PHRASES a lack of experience, a wealth of experience The veteran goalkeeper will bring a wealth of experience to the team.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

experience
II. the things that have happened to you
ADJ. past We're in for a difficult couple of weeks, if past experience is anything to go by.
direct, first-hand, hands-on, personal | subjective Experience is subjective and very hard to measure.
vicarious I love reading: I have an insatiable appetite for vicarious experience.
common, shared his peers, with whom he shares the common experience of being black in a white society
common It is a matter of common experience that disorder will increase if things are left to themselves.
everyday Choose illustrative examples from the children's everyday experience.
human There are few areas of human experience that have not been written about.
sensory
VERB + EXPERIENCE have | share | draw on, learn by/from/through In her book, she draws on her first-hand experience of mental illness. We all learn by experience.
be based on The book is based on personal experience.
EXPERIENCE + VERB suggest sth, teach (sb) sth Experience has taught me that life can be very unfair.
PREP. by/from ~ We know from experience that hot objects are painful to touch.
in sb's ~ In my experience, very few people really understand the problem.
~ of He has direct experience of poverty.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

experience
III. event/activity that affects you
ADJ. enjoyable, exhilarating, good, interesting, liberating, pleasant, rewarding, unforgettable, valuable | bad, harrowing, painful, traumatic, unnerving, unsettling I had a bad experience with fireworks once.
hair-raising, nerve-racking a hair-raising experience of white-water rafting
humbling, salutary, sobering | personal, subjective | common, shared The use of drama can motivate students by allowing them to share a common experience.
common It is a common experience to feel that an author writes well, without being able to say why.
real-life | past | childhood, early, formative Early experiences shape the way we face up to and deal with crises in later life.
educational, learning | mystical, religious, visionary | psychic | sexual | near-death
VERB + EXPERIENCE enjoy, go through, have, undergo She has been through a very traumatic experience. I think you will enjoy the experience of taking part in the show.
come through, get over It could take him years to get over this experience.
describe, recount, talk about | share, swap Does anyone have any experiences?good or bad?that they would like to share with the group?
relive Reliving past experiences can release powerful feelings that have been pent up too long.
be based on The novel is based on his experiences in the war.
PHRASES quite an experience It was quite an experience being involved in making a television programme.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

experience
verb
ADV. actually | directly, first-hand He hadn't directly experienced the fighting in the city. people who have actually experienced these problems first-hand
subjectively

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

experience

have experience
Applicants must have experience of working with children.
get/gain experience
He suggested that I should gain some experience in a related industry like travel.
lack experience (=not have enough experience)
Some students lack experience writing essays.
broaden/widen your experience (=increase the amount of different experience you have)
After six years with the bank, he went to work in New York to broaden his experience.
considerable experience (=a lot of experience)
Margaret has considerable experience of hospital work.
long experience (=experience gained over a long period of time)
New prison officers are partnered by officers with long experience of dealing with violent prisoners.
useful/valuable experience (=useful experience)
That summer he got some valuable experience working in a tax office.
invaluable experience (=extremely useful experience)
Playing in the under-21 squad gives these young players invaluable experience.
relevant experience (=experience that directly relates to a job, subject, or problem)
Applicants need a degree and two years of relevant experience.
past/previous experience
His only previous experience of broadcasting consisted of a job hosting a local radio station.
practical experience (=experience gained from doing something, not from books or study)
The classes provide students with some practical experience of computers.
first-hand experience (=experience gained by doing something yourself)
She has no first-hand experience of running a school.
a wealth of experience (=a lot of useful experience)
Between them, the management team have a wealth of experience.
lack of experience
My colleagues kept making comments about about my lack of experience.
personal experience
He spoke from personal experience about the harmful effects of taking drugs.
life experience (=experience that comes from life)
As an older parent, your life experience is one of your greatest assets.
first-hand experience (=experience gained from doing something yourself)
As a journalist living in Iraq, he had first-hand experience of coping with terror on his doorstep.
bitter experience (=experience that makes you feel disappointed or upset)
I knew from bitter experience how unreliable she could be.
everyday experience (=experience of normal life)
Hunger is part of everyday experience for these children.
know/learn from experience
Janet knew from experience that love doesn't always last.
speak from experience
The miners spoke from experience about the dangers of their work.
lack experience
Many men in their twenties lack experience and social skills.
experience suggests/shows something
Experience suggests that children who commit crimes will continue to offend as adults.
lack of experience
He was embarrassed about his lack of experience with women.
a good/bad experience
On the whole, going to boarding school was a good experience for him.
I've had some bad experiences when I've been travelling on my own.
positive/negative
The entire experience has been very positive.
Many people reported having negative experiences when dealing with their local council.
enjoyable/pleasant
We want to make the experience as enjoyable as possible.
She recalled pleasant experiences from her past.
memorable/unforgettable (=a good experience that you will remember for a long time)
Meeting the queen was a memorable experience.
painful (=one that is very upsetting)
Her family supported her through the painful experience.
traumatic/harrowing (=one that is shocking and upsetting, and affects you for a long time)
Having an operation can be a traumatic experience for a child.
new
The club scene was a whole new experience for me.
a formative experience (=one that has an important influence on the way someone develops)
The trip was probably the most formative experience of my life.
childhood experiences
Our childhood experiences make us what we are as adults.
a religious experience (=one that makes someone believe strongly in God)
As a young man he had a profound religious experience.
an everyday/commonplace experience (=one that is typical of normal life)
The sound of gunfire is an everyday experience in the city.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

experience
noun
1.
BAD: I made my first teaching experience in Scotland.
GOOD: I had my first teaching experience in Scotland.
BAD: While I was going home, I made a bad experience.
GOOD: While I was going home, I had a bad experience.

Usage Note:
have an experience (NOT make ): 'The streets were full of beggars and we had one or two very unpleasant experiences.'
DO · HAVE · MAKE · TAKE
Many phrases begin with a very common very such as do, make, have, or take : ‘I felt very nervous about taking the test but, after having a long talk with Mrs Fisher, I decided I would just do my best and try not to make too many silly mistakes .’ These verbs can be combined with some nouns but not with others and since they do not have a clear meaning of their own, choosing the right combination can be a problem. Phrases which tend to cause difficulty are shown below.
HAVE
have a bath (or esp. AmE take ) ‘She’s probably upstairs having a bath.’
Have (your) breakfast ‘We usually have breakfast in the kitchen.’
Have (your) dinner ‘We had dinner and then went for a walk.’
Have a drink ‘I’ll collapse if I don’t have a drink soon.’
Have (an) experience ‘He has no experience of running a large company.’
Have fun ‘You can’t stop people from having fun.’
Have a holiday ‘It’s almost a year since we had a real holiday.’
Have an interview ‘I’ve had six interviews but no one has offered me a job.’
Have a lesson ‘Every morning we have three fifty-minute lessons.’
Have (your) lunch ‘Isn’t it about time we had lunch?’
Have an operation ‘Before I had the operation I could hardly walk.’
Have a party ‘On Saturday we’re having a party.’
Have a picnic ‘If it’s sunny we could have a picnic.’
Have a shower (or esp. AmE take) ‘It only takes me a minute to have a shower.’
TAKE
Take/do an examination ‘Why do we have to take so many tests?’
Take (your) medicine ‘Don’t forget to take your medicine.’
Take a pill ‘He refuses to take sleeping pills.’
Take/do a test ‘The last test I took was a disaster.’
MAKE
Make an effort ‘I had to make a big effort not to laugh.’
Make a journey ‘It was the first journey he’d made all on his own.’
Make a mistake ‘He has made a serious mistake.’
Make a noise ‘How can one small child make so much noise?’
Make progress ‘I made very little progress at the start of the course.’
DO
Do your best ‘Don’t worry, Tim. Just do your best.’
Do (or cause) damage ‘The storm did a lot of damage to the crops.’
Do an exercise ‘Have you done your exercises today?’
Do an experiment ‘To do this experiment, you’ll need two eggs.’
Do (sb) good ‘The holiday has done him a lot of good.’
Do harm ‘A scandal would do his reputation a lot of harm.’
Do your homework ‘Have you done your homework yet?’
Do a job ‘I’ve got one or two jobs to do this evening.’
Do the/some shopping ‘Jake has gone into town to do some shopping.’
Do research ‘We need to do a lot more research.’
Do things ‘We’ve done lots of different things today.’
Do your training ‘Where did you do your training?’
Note also: do something/anything etc: ‘I can’t come now – I’m doing something.’ ‘He hasn’t done anything wrong.'

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2.
BAD: If I go to England, I'll have a lot of experiences.
GOOD: If I go to England, I'll have a lot of new experiences.

Usage Note:
When experience means 'something that happens to you', it is usually modified: 'The book is based on her experiences as a reporter in El Salvador.' 'Don't give up just because of one bad experience.' 'The trip to Niagara Falls was an unforgettable experience.'

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3.
BAD: I hadn't made any experience of changing a car wheel.
GOOD: I hadn't had any experience of changing a car wheel.

Usage Note:
have no/little/some/considerable etc experience (NOT make ): 'Most of the school inspectors had at least ten years' teaching experience.'
See language note above

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4.
BAD: I knew that he had no experience driving in the dark.
GOOD: I knew that he had no experience of driving in the dark.
BAD: Older people have had more experience in life.
GOOD: Older people have had more experience of life.

Usage Note:
have no/little/some/considerable etc experience of (doing) sth
'Do you have any previous experience of looking after children?'

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5.
BAD: Many of us have had experiences of living overseas.
GOOD: Many of us have had experience of living overseas.

Usage Note:
When you are talking about someone's life as a whole, experience is uncountable: 'Salary will depend upon qualifications and experience.'

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲