study

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun The effort to acquire knowledge, as by reading, observation, or research.
• noun An act or effort made in the pursuit of knowledge.
• noun A branch of knowledge or department of learning.
• noun Attentive examination or analysis.
• noun A detailed examination, analysis, or experiment investigating a subject or phenomenon.
• noun A document or publication presenting the results of such an endeavor.
• noun A literary work treating a particular subject or character.
• noun A preliminary sketch, as for a work of art or literature.
• noun Medicine A diagnostic test.
• noun Music A composition intended as a technical exercise.
• noun A state of mental absorption.
• noun A room intended or equipped for studying or writing.
• noun A noteworthy or interesting example.
• intransitive verb To apply one's mind purposefully to the acquisition of knowledge or understanding of (a subject).
• intransitive verb To take (a course) at a school.
• intransitive verb To try to memorize.
• intransitive verb To perform a study of; investigate.
• intransitive verb To read or look at carefully.
• intransitive verb To give careful thought to; contemplate.
• intransitive verb Medicine To perform a diagnostic test on (a part of the body, for example).
• intransitive verb To apply oneself to learning, especially by reading.
• intransitive verb To pursue a course of study.
• intransitive verb To ponder; reflect.

from The Century Dictionary.

• noun Eagerness; earnestness; zeal.
• noun Zealous endeavor; studied effort, aim, or purpose; deliberate contrivance or intention.
• noun The mental effort of understanding, appreciating, and assimilating anything, especially a book; the earnest and protracted examination of a question, by reflection, collection and scrutiny of evidence, and otherwise; the pursuit of learning.
• noun An exercise in learning or the pursuit of knowledge; an act or course of intellectual acquisition, as by memorizing words, facts, or principles: as, the actor's study was very rapid; also, an effort to gain an understanding of something; a particular course of learning, inquiry, or investigation: as, to pursue the study of physics or of a language; to make a study of trade, of a case at law, or of a man's life or character.
• noun That which is studied or to be studied; a branch of learning; a subject of acquired or desired knowledge; a matter for investigation or meditation.
• noun A state of mental inquiry or cogitation; debate or counsel with one's self; deep meditation; a muse; a quandary.
• noun Theat., one who studies or learns; a studier; specifically, a memorizer of a part for the theater; an actor as a memorizer.
• noun In music, a composition, usually instrumental, having something of the instructive and gymnastic purpose of an exercise combined with a certain amount of artistic value; an étude.
• noun Something done as an exercise in learning, or in special study or observation; specifically, in art, a sketch or performance executed as an educational exercise, as a memorandum or record of observations or effects, or as a guide for a finished production: as, the story is a study of morbid passion; a study of a head for a painting.
• noun A room in a dwelling-house or other building set apart for private study, reading, writing, or any similar occupation; by extension, the private room or office of the master of a house, however it may be used.
• noun Synonyms Research, inquiry, investigation.
• noun Reflection.
• noun Another spelling of stiddy, a variant of stithy.
• To exercise the mind in learning; apply one's self to the acquisition of knowledge; acquire knowledge and mental training, as by memorizing words, facts, or principles.
• To exercise the mind in considering or contriving; deliberate upon or about something; ponder.
• To muse; meditate; cogitate; reflect; revolve thoughts or ideas: used absolutely.
• To endeavor studiously or thoughtfully; use studied or careful efforts; be diligent or zealous; plan; contrive: as, to study for peace or for the general good.
• To prosecute a regular course of study, as that prescribed to prepare one for the exercise of a profession: as, to study for the bar, or for the church or ministry.
• To seek to learn by memorizing the facts, principles, or words of; apply the mind to learning; store in the memory, either generally or verbatim: as, to study a book, a language, history, etc.; to study a part in a play or a piece for recitation.
• To seek to ascertain or to learn the particulars of, as by observation or inquiry; make a study of; inquire into; investigate: as, to study a man's character or the customs of society; to study the geology of a region, or a case of disease.
• To consider in detail; deliberate upon; think out: as, to study the best way of doing something; to study a discourse or a compliment.
• To regard attentively or discriminatingly; consider as to requirements, character, quality, use, effect, or the like; pay distinguishing attention to: as, to study one's own interests; to study the effect of one's actions; to study a person; to study a drapery or a model in art.