The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word MEMORISE
M
E
M
O
R
I
S
E
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "learn by heart" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case learn by heart = memorise.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does MEMORISE mean?
MEMORISE verb- To learn by heart, commit to memory.