# experience

> English word · Noun · IPA /ɪkˈspɪə.ɹɪəns/ · frequency rank #541

## Definitions
1. The effect upon the judgment or feelings produced by any event, whether witnessed or participated in; personal and direct impressions as contrasted with description or fancies; personal acquaintance; actual enjoyment or suffering.
2. An activity one has performed.
3. A collection of events and/or activities from which an individual or group may gather knowledge, opinions, and skills.
4. The knowledge thus gathered.
5. A business offering in which a major focus is the way that the customer interacts with the business throughout the transaction, as opposed to only its outcome (the product or service).
6. Synonym of experience points
7. Trial; a test or experiment.

## Etymology
From Middle English experience, from Old French, from Latin experientia (“a trial, proof, experiment, experimental knowledge, experience”), from experiens, present participle of experiri (“to try, put to the test, undertake, undergo”), from ex (“out”) + peritus (“experienced, expert”), past participle of *periri (“to go through”); see expert and peril. Displaced native Old English āfandung (“experience”) and āfandian (“to experience”).

## Easily confused with
- **experienced** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/experience-vs-experienced)
- **experiences** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/experience-vs-experiences)
- **expediency** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/expediency-vs-experience)

## Common misspellings (15)
`epxerience`, `exeprience`, `expeirence`, `expereince`, `experiance`, `experiecne`, `experiencce`, `experienec`, `experiennce`, `experinece`, `experrience`, `expperience`, `expreience`, `exxperience`, `xeperience`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/experience