Listen Definition & Meaning
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verb (used without object)
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to give attention with the ear; attend closely for the purpose of hearing; give ear.
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to pay attention; heed; obey (often followed byto ).
Children don't always listen to their parents.
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to wait attentively for a sound (usually followed byfor ).
to listen for sounds of their return.
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Informal. to convey a particular impression to the hearer; sound.
The new recording doesn't listen as well as the old one.
verb (used with object)
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Archaic. to give ear to; hear.
verb phrase
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listen in
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to listen to a radio or television broadcast.
Listen in tomorrow for the names of the lottery winners.
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to overhear a conversation or communication, especially by telephone; eavesdrop.
Someone was listening in to his private calls.
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verb
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to concentrate on hearing something
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to take heed; pay attention
I told you many times but you wouldn't listen
Related Words
See hear.
Other Word Forms
- listener noun
- relisten verb
- unlistening adjective
Etymology
Origin of listen
First recorded before 950; Middle English lis(t)nen, Old English hlysnan; cognate with Middle High German lüsenen, Swedish lyssna; akin to list 5
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
During testimony before a US Senate committee, Butterfield was asked by Republican Senator Fred Thompson of Tennessee if he was aware of any listening devices in the president's Oval Office.
From BBC
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When you have somebody of his experience telling you something, you listen.
From BBC
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"Normally I'm someone who doesn't listen to anyone, but when they came to talk to me and acted like older siblings, I listened and stopped what I was doing."
From Barron's
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"It's not too late for the government to listen to us as experts and as a profession and stop before bulldozing our jury system."
From BBC
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Speaking at the trial of Paul Quinn, the woman said she was "very naive" and had "listened to what the police said" when she raised her identification concerns.
From BBC
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Related Words
- accept
- admit
- attend
- get
- observe
- take notice
- tune in
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
Tag » How Do You Spell Listen
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