learnt

Learnt is the past tense and past participle of the verb learn in British English and many other varieties of English that retain the -t form. It denotes acquiring knowledge or skill in the past. In American English, the corresponding form is learned, though learnt is widely understood and used in the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and other Commonwealth varieties.

Usage: Learnt appears in sentences such as “I learnt to ride a bike last summer” or “She has learnt a great deal from the experience.” When forming perfect tenses, either “have/has/had learnt” or “have/has/had learned” may be used depending on dialect; “learnt” is common in British contexts, while “learned” is more common in American contexts.

Origin and related forms: The word comes from Old English leornian and is cognate with German lernen and Dutch leren. The -t past participle form (learnt) reflects historical variation in English verb endings.

Meaning and usage notes: “Learnt” is a straightforward past tense; “learned” can also appear as an adjective meaning “educated” or “scholarly” (the learned professor). This adjective sense is unrelated to the verb forms but shares the same etymology.