Listen Definition & Meaning

American

British

Related Words

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Examples

Related Words

Synonyms listen American [lis-uhn] / ˈlɪs ən /

verb (used without object)

1. to give attention with the ear; attend closely for the purpose of hearing; give ear.

2. to pay attention; heed; obey (often followed byto ).

   Children don't always listen to their parents.

3. to wait attentively for a sound (usually followed byfor ).

   to listen for sounds of their return.

4. 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)

1. Archaic. to give ear to; hear.

verb phrase

1. listen in

   1. to listen to a radio or television broadcast.

      Listen in tomorrow for the names of the lottery winners.

   2. to overhear a conversation or communication, especially by telephone; eavesdrop.

      Someone was listening in to his private calls.

listen British / ˈlɪsən /

verb

1. to concentrate on hearing something

2. to take heed; pay attention

   I told you many times but you wouldn't listen

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

“American audiences went TV crazy. They stopped listening to radio, and they stopped going to the movies.”

From The Wall Street Journal

But when he does speak, his family listens.

From The Wall Street Journal

"The referee looked like he blew and looked like he was listening to someone in his ear, so I'm assuming the linesman gave the decision, and it's absolute shocker."

From BBC

Better that than listening to the torrents of stick about his team and the wounding chat about his head coach.

From BBC

Archbishop Richard Moth also paid tribute to the struggles faced by refugees and reaffirmed the need to listen to victims of abuse as he was formally installed at Westminster Cathedral.

From BBC

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.