listen
verb
lisĀ·ten
| \ Ėli-sįµn
\
\
listened;
listening\ Ėlis-niÅ
, Ėli-sįµn-iÅ \
, Ėli-sįµn-iÅ \
Definition of listen
(Entry 1 of 2)
archaic
: to give ear to : hear
1
: to pay attention to sound
listen to music
2
: to hear something with thoughtful attention : give consideration
listen to a plea
3
: to be alert to catch an expected sound
listen for his step
listen
nounDefinition of listen (Entry 2 of 2)
: an act of listening
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Other Words from listen
Verb
listener
\ Ėlis-nÉr
, Ėli-sįµn-Ér \
noun
, Ėli-sįµn-Ér \
noun
Synonyms & Antonyms for listen
Synonyms: Verb
attend, hark, harken, hear, hearken, heed, mind
Antonyms: Verb
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Examples of listen in a Sentence
Verb
I listened as hard as I could, but I couldn't hear a word of what he said over all that noise. She listened with interest as he told her about his travels. She tried to warn him of the dangers, but he wouldn't listen.
Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
Maestro Manze, not wanting to miss the encore, listened from the side of the stage. — Jay Nordlinger, National Review, "Mozart & Co.," 30 Aug. 2019 The lo-fi pop-rock up-and-comer has just returned home to L.A. the day after the first listening party for her new EP in New York City, and she's set to perform again tonight in the city. — Stephen Daw, Billboard, "Deb Never Breaks Down Debut EP 'House on Wheels', Reveals How Brockhampton Collab Came About," 30 Aug. 2019 Buford is especially excited for the release of No Division, a West Coast IPA made in collaboration with Hot Water Music, a rock band Buford listened to while growing up. — Tirion Morris, azcentral, "Arizona Wilderness will drop 7 limited release beers on Labor Day weekend. Here's the list," 30 Aug. 2019 More and more, we're given collectively, as women, a platform because people are listening. — Christopher Rosa, Glamour, "13 Reasons Why," 29 Aug. 2019 Sullivan secretly recorded the meeting and has let a select group of people listen to the audio. 2. — Jamie Hancock, Dallas News, "Who has the secret audio of Texas House speaker meeting, Rick Perry's Instagram gaffe, Dallas mayor has a new job," 27 Aug. 2019 In one scene, the Chinese workers brought to Ohio listen quietly or nod as managers tell them why a unionās a bad idea. — Echo Huang, Quartz at Work, "In Obamaās āAmerican Factory,ā Chinese viewers glimpse their own labor problems," 26 Aug. 2019 Unsurprisingly, everyone was thrilled to hear what the famous couple are listening to - but perhaps none more than Lizzo herself. — Jessica Rapana, Harper's BAZAAR, "The Obamas just dropped their summer playlist," 25 Aug. 2019 Supporting each other by the simple acts of showing up, advocating, referring, or lending a listening ear are impactful. — Redbook, "I'm Struggling with Turning 40. Here's What I'm Doing to Combat That," 22 Aug. 2019Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
Rogan, the one who handed Elon Musk a spliff, on camera, and got him to smoke it, thus earning national headlines for himself and millions of listens for his advertisers, got played. — Devin Gordon, The Atlantic, "I Tried to Live Like Joe Rogan," 19 Aug. 2019 Since the release of her debut EP dont smile at me ā and arguably even before that ā thereās no denying that Billie is here to disrupt the music industry (while racking up millions of listens), and this is just another step in the right direction. — Sara Delgado, Teen Vogue, "Billie Eilish Doesn't Want to Be Compared to Ariana Grande and Lana Del Rey," 11 Apr. 2019 His ability to translate the complicated details and be a good listen is important. — Chad Finn, BostonGlobe.com, "Dale Earnhardt Jr. transitioned seamlessly from driverās seat to broadcast booth," 18 July 2019 Take a listen to the incredible cover above and get ready to have your entire perspective of Jessie J shift in the process. — Sydney Bucksbaum, EW.com, "Jessie J's powerful cover of 'On My Own' will make your jaw drop," 1 Aug. 2019 Take a listen to the new English version of the song below. — Tamar Herman, Billboard, "NCT 127 Release English Version Of 'Highway to Heaven': Listen," 18 July 2019 While the primary audience will be Christians seeking on-demand sermons, Osteenās unique position within his community may make the show an informative listen even for atheists. — New York Times, "8 Podcasts for the Spiritual Searcher," 21 June 2019 But this is a score that rewards a careful listen and much of the writing feels painfully wise. — Chris Jones, chicagotribune.com, "Firebrand's 'Queen of the Mist' tells the painful true story of the woman who survived Niagara Falls," 11 June 2019 Spotify represents nearly one-fifth of all listens, and smaller platforms make up the remainder. — Ashley Carman, The Verge, "NPR wants to know what podcast ads you skip," 27 Dec. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'listen.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for listen
listen
verb
English Language Learners Definition of listen
(Entry 1 of 2)
: to pay attention to someone or something in order to hear what is being said, sung, played, etc.
—used to tell a person to listen to what you are saying
: to hear what someone has said and understand that it is serious, important, or true
listen
nounEnglish Language Learners Definition of listen (Entry 2 of 2)
: the act of listening to something
See the full definition for listen in the English Language Learners Dictionary
listen
verb
lisĀ·ten
| \ Ėli-sįµn
\
\
listened;
listening
Kids Definition of listen
1
: to pay attention in order to hear
Are you listening to me?
2