teach

teach

W2S1 [ti:tʃ] v past tense and past participle taught [to:t US to:t]

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1¦(school/college etc)¦

2¦(show somebody how)¦

3¦(change somebody's ideas)¦

4¦(experience shows something)¦

5 that'll teach you (to do something)

6 teach somebody a lesson

7 you can't teach an old dog new tricks

8 teach your grandmother (to suck eggs)

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[: Old English; Origin: tAcan 'to show, teach']

1.) ¦(SCHOOL/COLLEGE ETC)¦ [I and T]

to give lessons in a school, college, or university, or to help someone learn about something by giving them information

→↑learn teach at

▪ Neil teaches at the Guildhall School of Music in London.

teach (sb) English/mathematics/history etc

▪ He taught geography at the local secondary school.

teach sb (sth) about sth

▪ We were never taught anything about other religions.

teach sth to sb

▪ I'm teaching English to Italian students.

teach school/college etc

AmE (=teach in a school etc)

2.) ¦(SHOW SOMEBODY HOW)¦ [T]

to show someone how to do something

teach sb (how) to do sth

▪ My father taught me to swim.

▪ different methods of teaching children how to read

teach sb sth

▪ Can you teach me one of your card tricks?

3.) ¦(CHANGE SOMEBODY'S IDEAS)¦ [T]

to show or tell someone how they should behave or what they should think

teach sb to do sth

▪ When I was young, we were taught to treat older people with respect.

teach sb sth

▪ No one ever taught him the difference between right and wrong.

teach sb that

▪ He taught me that the easy option isn't always the best one.

4.) ¦(EXPERIENCE SHOWS SOMETHING)¦ [T]

if an experience or situation teaches you something, it helps you to understand something about life

teach sb to do sth

▪ Experience has taught me to avoid certain areas of the city.

teach sb that

▪ It's certainly taught me that work and money aren't the most important things in life.

5.) that'll teach you (to do sth)

spoken used when something unpleasant has just happened to someone because they acted stupidly

▪ That'll teach you to be late!

6.) teach sb a lesson informal

if someone or something teaches you a lesson, you are punished for something you have done, so that you will not want to do it again

7.) you can't teach an old dog new tricks

used to say that older people often do not want to change the way they do things

8.) teach your grandmother (to suck eggs)

BrE to give someone advice about something that they already know