listen definition

English listen definition

Alternative forms

• lisen (obsolete)
• lis'en (informal)
• lissen (informal)

Etymology

From Middle English listenen, listnen, alteration (due to Middle English listen (“to listen, give heed to”)) of Old English hlysnan (“to listen”), from Proto-Germanic *hlusnijaną, *hlusnōną (compare Middle High German lüsenen), from Proto-Germanic *hlusēną (compare Old High German hlosēn), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱlew- (“to hear”) (compare Ancient Greek κλαίω (klaíō, “I make known, famous”), Welsh clywed (“to hear”), Latin clueō (“I am famous”), Lithuanian klausýti, Old Church Slavonic слѹшати (slušati, “to hear”), Sanskrit श्रोषति (śróṣati). Related to loud and German lauschen.

Pronunciation

• enPR: lĭs'ən, lĭs'n, IPA^(key): /ˈlɪs.ən/, [ˈlɪs.n̩]

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪsən
• Hyphenation: lis‧ten

Verb

listen (third-person singular simple present listens, present participle listening, simple past and past participle listened)

1. (intransitive) To pay attention to a sound or speech.

   Please listen carefully as I explain.  I like to listen to music.

   • 1922, Ben Travers, chapter 1, in A Cuckoo in the Nest‎^[1]:

     He read the letter aloud. Sophia listened with the studied air of one for whom, even in these days, a title possessed some surreptitious allurement.

   • Attention definition

     Mental focus. (1 of 3 attention definitions)

   • Sound definition

     Healthy. (1 of 7 sound definitions)

   • Speech definition

     The faculty of uttering articulate sounds or words; the ability to speak or to use vocalizations to communicate. (1 of 6 speech definitions)
2. (intransitive) To expect or wait for a sound, such as a signal.

   You should listen for the starting gun.

   • 1906, Stanley J[ohn] Weyman, chapter I, in Chippinge Borough, New York, N.Y.: McClure, Phillips & Co., OCLC 580270828, page 01:

     It was April 22, 1831, and a young man was walking down Whitehall in the direction of Parliament Street. […]. He halted opposite the Privy Gardens, and, with his face turned skywards, listened until the sound of the Tower guns smote again on the ear and dispelled his doubts.

   • 1912 January, Zane Grey, chapter 4, in Riders of the Purple Sage: A Novel, New York, N.Y.; London: Harper & Brothers Publishers, OCLC 6868219:

     He reined Wrangle to a walk, halted now and then to listen, and then proceeded cautiously with shifting and alert gaze.

   • Expect definition

     To predict or believe that something will happen (1 of 6 expect definitions)

   • Wait definition

     To delay movement or action until the arrival or occurrence of; to await. (Now generally superseded by “wait for”.) (1 of 7 wait definitions)

   • Signal definition

     A sequence of states representing an encoded message in a communication channel. (1 of 10 signal definitions)
3. (intransitive) To accept advice or obey instruction; to agree or assent.

   Listen, the only reason I yelled at you was because I was upset, OK?  Good children listen to their parents.

   • 1945 August 17, George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], chapter 1, in Animal Farm: A Fairy Story, London: Secker & Warburg, OCLC 3655473:

     Never listen when they tell you that Man and the animals have a common interest […].

   • Accept definition

     To receive, especially with a consent, with favour, or with approval. (1 of 9 accept definitions)

   • Advice definition

     An opinion offered in an effort to be helpful. (1 of 9 advice definitions)

   • Obey definition

     To do as ordered by (a person, institution etc), to act according to the bidding of. (1 of 3 obey definitions)

   • Agree definition

     To harmonize in opinion, statement, or action; to be in unison or concord; to be or become united or consistent; to concur. (1 of 8 agree definitions)

   • Assent definition

     To agree; to give approval. (1 of 2 assent definitions)
4. (transitive, archaic) To hear (something or someone), to pay attention to.
   • 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte d'Arthur, Book XX:

     ‘But, sir, lyars ye have lystened, and that hath caused grete debate betwyxte you and me.’

   • 1592, William Shakespeare, 1 Hen VI: v 3

     Lady, vouchsafe to listen what I say.

   • Hear definition

     To perceive sounds through the ear. (1 of 8 hear definitions)

Usage notes

In English, listen and hear are two primary verbs relating to audial perception. To hear represents automatic, unconscious, or passive perception of sound, while listen generally represents intentional, conscious, or purposeful use of the sense of hearing. The difference is expressed in the following quotation:

As the silence took hold in the darkness, Sam realized that she had been hearing, though not listening to, various low-level sounds—the hum of air conditioning and life support, the pulse of some faraway oxygen pump, the faint buzz of the electrical and lighting systems. —Justin Richards (1999) Demontage, chapter 5, page 92.

A similar distinction exists between see and watch in English.

Quotations

• For quotations using this term, see Citations:listen.

Synonyms

• (to pay attention): attend, behear, give ear, hark, hear, heed, list, mind, note, pay attention
• (to expect or wait for a sound): await, anticipate, expect, wait for
• (to accept advice or instruction): agree, assent, hearken, mind, obey
• (to hear): hear, mind, heed
• See also Thesaurus:listen

Antonyms

• (to pay attention): ignore
• (to accept advice or instruction): disobey, disregard

Coordinate terms

• speak
• talk

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Noun

listen (plural listens)

1. An instance of listening.

   Synonym: play (of recorded audio)

   Give the motor a listen and tell me if it sounds off.

   • 2016 March 29, Victor Luckerson, “There's a New Way To Listen To All the Remixes You Want”, in Time‎^[2]:

     The diss song, “Back to Back,” now has more than 124 million listens, a sign that the streaming can attract a sizable audience for a single track.

   • Play definition

     To act in a manner such that one has fun; to engage in activities expressly for the purpose of recreation or entertainment. (1 of 24 play definitions)

See also

• hear

Anagrams

• ELINTs, SILENT, Teslin, enlist, inlets, leints, silent, tinsel

Czech listen definition

Etymology

list +‎ -en

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈlɪstɛn]

Noun

listen m inan

1. (botany) bract

   • Botany definition

     The scientific study of plants, a branch of biology. Typically those disciplines that involve the whole plant. (1 of 4 botany definitions)

   • Bract definition

     A leaf or leaf-like structure from the axil out of which a stalk of a flower or an inflorescence arises.

Further reading

• listen in Příruční slovník jazyka českého, 1935–1957
• listen in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989

Danish listen definition

Noun

listen c

1. definite singular of liste

   • Liste definition

     plural of lis
2. definite singular of list

   • List definition

     A strip of fabric, especially from the edge of a piece of cloth. (1 of 11 list definitions)

Dutch listen definition

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

listen

1. Plural form of list

Anagrams

• instel, sintel, stel in

German listen definition

Etymology

From Liste +‎ -en.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈlɪstn̩]

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: lis‧ten
• Homophone: Listen

Verb

listen (third-person singular simple present liste, past tense listete, past participle gelistet, auxiliary haben)

1. to list

Conjugation

Synonyms

• auflisten

Derived terms

• auflisten

Related terms

• Liste f

Norwegian Bokmål listen definition

Alternative forms

• lista

Noun

listen m or f

1. definite masculine singular of liste
2. definite masculine singular of list

Spanish listen definition

Verb

listen

1. Second-person plural (ustedes) imperative form of listar.

   • Ustedes definition

     you (plural) (1 of 2 ustedes definitions)

   • Listar definition

     indefinite genitive singular of list
2. Second-person plural (ustedes) present subjunctive form of listar.
3. Third-person plural (ellos, ellas, also used with ustedes^?) present subjunctive form of listar.

   • Ellos definition

     they

   • Ellas definition

     they

Swedish listen definition

Noun

listen

1. definite singular of list

Anagrams

• linets, litens, sliten, stilen