com ‧ pre ‧ hen ‧ sion /ˌkɒmprɪˈhenʃ ə n $ ˌkɑːm-/ BrE AmE noun
[ Date: 1400-1500 ; Language: Latin ; Origin: comprehensio , from comprehendere ; COMPRHEND ]
1 . [uncountable] the ability to understand something SYN understanding ⇨ comprehend
comprehension of
They don’t have the least comprehension of what I’m trying to do.
The research project will focus on children’s comprehension of pretence.
Why you let her talk you into doing such a foolish thing is beyond my comprehension (=impossible for me to understand) .
2 . [uncountable and countable] an exercise given to students to test how well they understand written or spoken language:
new methods of testing reading comprehension
a comprehension task