Word.ws English Dictionary

learning the ropes

learning the ropes is the present participle and gerund of learn the ropes.

Meaning of learn the ropes

Verb

learn the ropes (third-person singular simple present learns the ropes, present participle learning the ropes, simple past and past participle learned the ropes or learnt the ropes)

  1. (informal) To learn the basics or master introductory knowledge.
    • Work slowly and cautiously until you have learned the ropes.
  2. (informal) To learn some skill requiring specialist knowledge.
    • While it is unlikely that [Lonny] Baxter plays a significant role immediately, he will be able to learn the ropes of interior play from such veterans as [Dikembe] Mutumbo, Yao [Ming], and [Juwan] Howard.2005, “2005–2006 Houston Rockets Season Preview”, in National Basketball Association, archived from the original on 01 May 2008

Questions about learning the ropes

What is learning the ropes the present participle and gerund of?
Learning the ropes is the present participle and gerund of learn the ropes.

Words near learning the ropes in the dictionary

  1. learning seasons
  2. learning society
  3. learning streak
  4. learning streaks
  5. learning the hard way
  6. learning the ropes
  7. learning to walk before one can run
  8. learning-disabled
  9. learning-knight
  10. learning-knights
  11. learningless

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: learning the ropes (page history and authors); learn the ropes (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Cite this entry: “learning the ropes.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/learning_the_ropes. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.