UNDERSTAND

(KNOW) [verb] [past:] understood - to know the meaning of (something), or to know how or why (a person or thing) behaves or operates in the way that they doHe writes using lots of long words that I don't understand. [T]She explained again what the computer was doing, but I still didn't understand. [I]I need to make sure that we understand one another/each other (= that we both know what the other means and wants and that we have an agreement). [T]Is there anyone here who understands Arabic? [T]I think he was phoning from a pub - it was so noisy I couldn't understand (= recognize) a word he said. [T]Understanding advanced maths was more than I could manage. [T]You don't understand what it's like/how it feels to have to beg on the streets. [+ wh- word]I couldn't understand (= didn't know the reason) why I felt so guilty. [+ wh- word]I can understand your feeling upset about what has happened. [T]Ade's dad never understood about how important her singing was to her. [I]When he said 3 o'clock, I understood him to mean (= I thought he meant) in the afternoon. [T + object + to infinitive]She sat in a corner and cried, moaning that no one understood her (= that no one had any sympathy for her or knew what she was feeling). [T](approving) Jack really understands horses (= knows how and why they behave as they do and has a sympathetic way of working with them). [T]Since they spoke only Swahili, we used signs and gestures to make ourselves understood (= to communicate).