learnt
SayLURNT/ˈlɜːnt/US/ˈlɝnt/
US spellinglearned
- 1Past tense and past participle of learn.
She learnt Italian while working in Milan for a year.
He learnt the hard way that the last bus leaves at eleven.
UsageLearned is equally correct here. The adjective for someone who knows a lot is always learned: a learned judge.
Note
One spelling does two jobs: the simple past (she learnt Italian) and the past participle after have (she has learnt Italian). It is a British, Irish and Commonwealth form, used alongside the regular learned rather than replacing it, while American English almost always uses learned.
Use it in a sentence
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Origin
From Middle English lernd, lernde, equivalent to learn + -t.
Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
- Learnt derives from Middle English lernd, lernde and is equivalent to learn + -t. en.wiktionary.org