Teach

/tiːtʃ/

verbBeginner🔥Very CommonAction
2 meanings1 idiom/phrase3 questions

Definitions

2 meanings
1

To instruct or guide someone, imparting knowledge or skill.

/tiːtʃ/

verbneutralBeginner
Action

To impart knowledge or skill to someone.

The professor teaches complex scientific theories.

💡 Simply: Imagine you're helping a friend learn how to ride a bike. You're teaching them! It's like showing someone how to do something or explaining something new.

👶 For kids: To help someone learn something new, like your teacher at school!

More Examples

2

He taught his dog a few tricks.

3

Can you teach me how to play the piano?

How It's Used

Education

"She teaches English at the local high school."

Skill development

"He teaches coding to beginners."

2

To cause someone to understand, believe, or learn something, often through experience or example.

/tiːtʃ/

verbneutralmedium
Action

To cause someone to believe or understand a particular idea or principle.

The accident taught him the value of safety.

💡 Simply: Sometimes, life teaches us things. Like, if you touch a hot stove, it teaches you to be careful! It means to learn something from an experience.

👶 For kids: To help someone understand something by showing them or making them feel something.

More Examples

2

The film taught viewers about historical events.

3

That mistake taught me a good lesson.

How It's Used

Moral/Ethical

"The experience taught him a valuable lesson about honesty."

Philosophical

"His actions taught her the importance of patience."

Tip:Experience can be a great teacher.

Idioms & expressions

teach someone a lesson

To punish or reprimand someone to prevent them from repeating a mistake or misbehavior.

"The school decided to teach the student a lesson about bullying by giving him detention."

From Old English tǣcan, meaning 'to show, point out, instruct'. It's related to the word 'token' and shares an Indo-European root with words meaning 'to show' or 'to touch'.

The word 'teach' has been used since Old English times and has consistently referred to the act of imparting knowledge or skills.

Memory tip

Think of a teacher sharing their treasure of knowledge.

Word Origin

LanguageProto-Germanic
Original meaning

"to show, point out"

teach a lessonteach a subjectteach someone aboutteach a skillteach a class

Common misspellings

teechteacheteatch

Usage

70%Spoken
30%Written