understand

Verb

understand (third-person singular simple present understands, present participle understanding, simple past and past participle understood)

1. (intransitive, transitive, usually, statements, signs) To know the meaning of; to parse or have parsed correctly; to comprehend.
   • Can you repeat what you just said? I didn't understand.
   • Thus, when he drew up instructions in lawyer language, he expressed the important words by an initial, a medial, or a final consonant, and made scratches for all the words between; his clerks, however, understood him very well.1892, Walter Besant, “Prologue: Who is Edmund Gray?”, in The Ivory Gate […], New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], →OCLC
   1. (intransitive, transitive, usually, statements, signs, generally) To know the meaning of.
      • ‘[…] I came back here, had a wank and finished that book.’
        ‘The Naked Lunch?’
        ‘Yeah.’
        ‘What did you reckon?’
        ‘Crap.’
        ‘You’re just saying that because you didn’t understand it,’ said Adrian.
        ‘I’m just saying that because I did understand it,’ said Tom. ‘Any road up, we’d better start making some...1991 September, Stephen Fry, chapter 1, in The Liar, London: Heinemann, →ISBN, section I, page 14
2. (transitive, usually, task, profession) To be thoroughly familiar with; to be able to undertake properly.
   • The students understood the assignment.
3. (transitive, usually) To comprehend a fact or principle; to regard or come to regard a belief as such.
   • I understand that company policy says I can't get a refund, but can you make an exception?
   • There's been no formal declaration, but it's understood that a state of war exists between the two countries
4. (transitive) To know the intent, motives or character of; (of events) to know the causes of or reasons for.
   • One day you say you love me, the next you ignore me—I don't understand you!
5. (transitive) To believe or infer, to think one grasps sufficiently despite potentially incomplete knowledge.
   • I've been given to understand that you have a package for me?
   • At least four people are understood to have been injured.

   Synonyms:

   believe

6. (transitive) To regard as present when not.
   • In the imperative mood, the word “you” is usually understood.
   • ‘I understand that the district was considered a sort of sanctuary,’ the Chief was saying.1963, Margery Allingham, “Foreword”, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC
7. (humorous, rare, obsolete outside circus) To stand underneath, to support.
   • LAUNE: Ay, and what I do too: look thee, I'll but lean, and my staff understands me.
     SPEED: It stands under thee, indeed.
     LAUNCE:Why, stand-under and under-stand is all one.c. 1590–1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Two Gentlemen of Verona”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and...

Interjection

1. (Malaysia, Singapore) Uh-huh, I see; a way to acknowledge something said by the other speaker.