idiom · neutral
learn the ropes
UK/lɜːn ðə rəʊps/US/lɝn ðə roʊps/LEARN·the·ROPES
speakingtask2
to learn how to do a job or task, especially when you are new to it
Examples
“During my first month at the firm I was mainly learning the ropes.”
“She needs time to learn the ropes before she leads the project.”
“Interns often learn the ropes by shadowing experienced staff.”
Band 8 sentence
“I spent the first fortnight simply learning the ropes so I wouldn't bungle any client meetings.”
Collocations
- learn the ropes of a job / company / system
- quickly learn the ropes
Word family
learn the ropes verb phrase
Common mistakes
learn ropes→learn the ropes
learn the rope→learn the ropes
Say it for a higher band
5get used to the job→6get the hang of it→7+learn the ropes
Synonyms
get the hang of it
pick up the job
Easily confused
get the hang of it
“After a few days I finally got the hang of it.”
Related words
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In Work
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