Meaning of understand In English

• 0 to know the meaning of something that someone says:

  • 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.

  • [ + question word ] We still don't fully understand how the brain works.

  • 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.

  • When he said three o'clock, I understood him to mean in the afternoon.

  • I wanted to make sure that we want the same things, that we really understand each other.

• 1 to know or realize something because you have been told it:

  • [ + (that) ] I understand (that) you are interested in borrowing some money from us.

  • [ + 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).

  • I don't want you to see that boy again. Understand?/Do you understand?/Is that understood?

  • In the library it is understood that people should talk quietly.

• 2 to know the meaning of something, or to know how a person feels and why the person behaves in a particular way:

  • [ + 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.

• 3 to believe something is true because you have been told something that causes you to think it:

  • [ + (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.