0 to know the meaning of something that someone says: --
I wanted to make sure that we want the same things, that we really understand each other.
When he said three o'clock, I understood him to mean in the afternoon.
[ + question word ] You don't understand what it's like/how it feels to have to beg on the streets.
Sometimes I don't understand James.
My wife doesn't understand me.
[ + question word ] We still don't fully understand how the brain works.
I think he was calling from a club - it was so noisy, I couldn't understand a word he said.
Is there anyone here who understands Arabic?
She explained the whole idea again, but I still didn't understand.
1 to know or realize something because you have been told it: --
In the library it is understood that people should talk quietly.
I don't want you to see that boy again. Understand?/Do you understand?/Is that understood?
[ + 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).
[ + that ] The Director had given her to understand (= told her) that she would be promoted.
[ + (that) ] I understand (that) you are interested in borrowing some money from us.
2 to know the meaning of something, or to know how a person feels and why the person behaves in a particular way: --
[ T ] It is understood that (= Everyone knows and accepts that) you don’t bring food or drinks into the library.
[ + question word ] I understand how she feels about the loss of her dog.
[ T ] He claimed that no one ever understood him (= had any sympathy for him or knew what he was feeling).
[ T ] It was so noisy I couldn’t understand (= recognize) a word he was saying.
[ + question word ] I don’t understand what he means.
3 to believe something is true because you have been told something that causes you to think it: --
I understood him to say (= I believed that he said) that the trip had been canceled.
[ + (that) clause ] I understand (that) the show will go on, but with a different cast.
Generalizing novel verbs to different structures : evidence for the importance of understanding meaning.
Having already accomplished some of the work of understanding the sentence, the children would have more resources available on the second attempt.
Taste is a complex, modern phenomenon that can be understood in a number of ways.
What was evident to him was a certain lack of understanding among actors about their obligation to writers and plays of social commitment.
The first step in understanding the phenomenon is to name it.
Studying capillary discharged plasma is helpful in understanding the principle of laser production and finding the best experimental parameters.
Truncated power laws : a tool for understanding aggregation patterns of animals?
The notion of sectoral specialisation is supported by another branch of recent analysis which involves understanding differences in the characteristics of firm owners.
