training
- 1The process of teaching a person or animal, or of learning, the skills needed for a job or activity.
The company provides extensive training for all new employees.
New nurses spend six weeks in training before they work alone on a ward.
UsageGet training in a skill or as a nurse; one event is usually a training session, though a training is also heard.
Note
The word also stretches to cover a whole intellectual formation. Stephen Ledoux, writing in American Scientist in 2012, speaks of scientists who exceed "the limits of their own disciplinary training."
- 2Regular physical workouts and practice that build fitness and prepare someone for a sport, a race or another contest.
The team returns for preseason training in early July.
She has been in training for the regional championships since January.
UsageUsually in training for a race or event; one workout is usually a training session.
Similarpractice, conditioning, preparation
- 3Present participle and gerund of train, the verb form in any of its meanings, as in 'She is training new staff' or 'training a camera on the door'.
The recruits are training under harsh winter conditions.
Training new staff takes patience and clear instructions.
UsageAs a verb it takes its object directly (training new staff); the noun needs of: the training of new staff.
Note
One form doing two jobs: in the progressive, after a form of be, it is a participle (the recruits are training), and in noun positions it is a gerund (training new staff takes patience). Because train works both with and without an object, the -ing form can stand alone or take an object directly. In a noun position, that direct object marks the gerund.
Less common meanings
- 4The stage of machine learning in which a computer model is given example data, usually in large amounts, and learns from it how to do a task.
During training, the network adjusts its internal weights little by little to reduce its errors.
The company spent millions of dollars on the chatbot's training before releasing it to the public.
Note
The technical sense that names the learning stage of a model's life. A model is said to be trained on its material, and that material is the training data or training set. Careful work keeps some examples back: the model is then checked on separate validation and test data it never saw in training, so its scores show what it learned rather than what it memorized.
Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- Good evaluation practice separates training, validation, and test data. docs.aws.amazon.com
- Evaluation on unseen data helps distinguish generalization from memorization of training examples. developers.google.com
- 5The polished manners and conduct that result from a good upbringing.
The young lady's training was apparent in her graceful manners at the ball.
His training revealed itself in the ease with which he conversed with his elders.
Similarbreeding, upbringing, refinement, cultivation
- 6The recording of multiple voice samples from a user to help a system recognize their speech patterns.
- 7The process by which two modems agree on which protocol and speed to use, also known as handshaking.
Showing meanings only.
training is a form of train
train, verb: To teach a person or animal a skill or way of behaving through repeated practice and instruction. Full entry
- Spelling
- train → training: add -ing
Practice
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