listen Hear it!

listen definition

lis·ten (lis′ən)

intransitive verb

  1. to make a conscious effort to hear; attend closely, so as to hear
  2. to pay close attention; take advice

Etymology: ME listnen, felt as freq. of listen (see list) < OE hlysnan (akin to MHG lüsenen)

transitive verb

Archaic to pay attention to by listening; hear

noun

the act of listening

Related Forms:

listen Idioms

listen in

☆
  1. to listen to the conversation of others; esp., to eavesdrop
  2. to listen to a broadcast

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

listen Synonyms

listen

v.

  1. To endeavor to hear

    attend, keep one's ears open, be attentive, listen in, pick up, overhear, give attention to, give a hearing to, give ear, hearken, hark, listen to, pay attention, give attention, hear, monitor, tune in*, give ear to*, incline an ear to*, not miss a trick*, lend an ear*, strain one's ears*, prick up one's ears*, cock one's ears*.

    Antonyms be deaf to, turn a deaf ear to, ignore.

  2. To receive advice cordially

    heed, receive, take advice, take under advisement, welcome, accept, entertain, admit, take into consideration, adopt, hear out*.

    Antonyms discard*, scorn*, refuse.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

listen Usage Examples

Object

  • comprehension: Vandergrift ( 1999 ) maintains that listening comprehension plays a key role in facilitating language learning and that focusing on it offers many advantages.

Preposition: on

  • port: The example assumes a server is listening on TCP port 2000 of the specified host.

Adjective complement

  • online: The update is also available for you to listen online.

Modifying Another Word

  • carefully: Listen carefully to the words you use, not to what you think you are saying.

Followed by an intransitive particle

  • out: I used to listen out for a bird which had picked up on one of the local kid's crazy whistle.

Used with why or when

  • when: We might have a voice now but we still need the government to listen when that voice speaks.

Infinitive complement

  • pop: We waited and listened to pop music on the car radio.

Preposition: for

  • while: One or two 5 abc channel news small birds listened attentively for a while, then started in to help her out.
listen usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

listen quotes

Most business meetings are staged to supply people who'd rather talk than work with people who'd rather listen than work.

-Boyd, L(ouis) M(alcolm)

We listen to others to discover what we ourselves believe.

-Grant, George P

That man's silence is wonderful to listen to.

-Hardy,Thomas

listen quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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MLA Style

"listen." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/listen>

APA Style

listen. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/listen

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