lis·ten

(lĭs′ən)

intr.v. lis·tened, lis·ten·ing, lis·tens

1. To make an effort to hear something: listen to the radio; listen for the bell that ends class.

2. To pay attention; heed: "She encouraged me to listen carefully to what country people called mother wit" (Maya Angelou).

An act of listening: Would you like to give the CD a listen before buying it?

Phrasal Verb:

listen in

1. To listen to a conversation between others; eavesdrop.

2. To tune in and listen to a broadcast.

Idiom:

listen up

Used as command to get a group or individual to pay attention: Listen up, everyone—we have to evacuate!

[Middle English listenen, alteration (influenced by listen, to list, listen; see list⁴) of Old English hlysnan; see kleu- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

lis′ten·er n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

listener - someone who listens attentively

attender, auditor, hearer

audience - a gathering of spectators or listeners at a (usually public) performance; "the audience applauded"; "someone in the audience began to cough"

beholder, observer, perceiver, percipient - a person who becomes aware (of things or events) through the senses

eavesdropper - a secret listener to private conversations

Translations

مُسْتَمِعٌ

posluchač

lytter

Hörer Zuhörer

ακροατής

oyente

kuuntelija

auditeur destinataire

slušatelj

ascoltatore uditore

聞き手

듣는 사람

poslušalec

lyssnare

ผู้ฟัง

dinleyici

người nghe

听众

listener

[ˈlɪsnəʳ] N (gen) → oyente mf (Rad) → radioyente mf
to be a good listener → saber escuchar
dear listeners! (Rad) → ¡queridos radioyentes or oyentes!

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

listener

[ˈlɪs^ənə^r] n

(to radio) → auditeur/trice m/f
I'm a regular listener to her show → Je suis un auditeur régulier de son émission.

(= person who listens sympathetically) to be a good listener → savoir écouter

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

listener

n → Zuhörer(in) m(f); (Rad) → Hörer(in) m(f); to be a good listener → gut zuhören können

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

listener

[ˈlɪsnəʳ] n (to speaker) → ascoltatore/trice; (to radio) → radioascoltatore/trice
to be a good listener → saper ascoltare

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

listener

→ مُسْتَمِعٌ posluchač lytter Zuhörer ακροατής oyente kuuntelija auditeur slušatelj ascoltatore 聞き手 듣는 사람 luisteraar lytter słuchacz ouvinte слушатель lyssnare ผู้ฟัง dinleyici người nghe 听众

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

There was something so uncommon in her manner, that the flesh of the concealed listener crept as he heard the girl utter these words, and the blood chilled within him.

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The utter irresolution and feebleness of the grey-haired child, contrasted with the keen and cunning looks of those in whose hands he was, smote upon the little listener's heart.

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All these noises deepened and became substantial to the listener's ear, till she could distinguish every soft and dreamy accent of the love songs that died causelessly into funeral hymns.

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Let me but lift my finger--!" She seemed to raise it (the listener's eyes were always on his paper), and to let it fall with a rattle on the ledge before her, as if the axe had dropped.

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A prince, therefore, ought always to take counsel, but only when he wishes and not when others wish; he ought rather to discourage every one from offering advice unless he asks it; but, however, he ought to be a constant inquirer, and afterwards a patient listener concerning the things of which he inquired; also, on learning that nay one, on any consideration, has not told him the truth, he should let his anger be felt.

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Strickland was not a conversationalist, and he had no gift for putting what he had to say in the striking phrase that the listener remembers.

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Thereupon her whistling became so disjointed that the listener, if such there were, must have discovered her suspicion of his presence.

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Matthew is such a sympathetic listener. Please can I go?"

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Inquiries were addressed to the butler by Julius; Geoffrey standing by, and taking no other than a listener's part in the proceedings.

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As I spoke, a dark gloom spread over my listener's countenance.

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For years an inmate of the palace, and often a listener in the armory when the King played at sword with his friends and favorites, De Vac had heard much which passed between Henry III and his intimates that could well be turned to the King's harm by a shrewd and resourceful enemy.

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In me he found an appreciative listener, who, by virtue of book-reading, knew much about the sea-life he had lived.

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