# hear

Pronunciation: say "HEER" US /hɪɚ/, UK /hɪə/

## Verb

1. To perceive sound with the ears, either as a general ability or by catching a particular sound.
   - Simple: To notice a sound with your ears, or to be able to sense sounds.
   - _She strained to hear over the noise of the crowd._
   - _I heard someone knocking at the back door just after midnight._
2. To receive information about something; to come to learn of an event or fact.
   - Simple: To find out about something, often from another person.
   - _I heard the details of the deal from a colleague at the office._
   - _Did you hear what happened at the meeting yesterday?_
3. To listen attentively to someone or something, including by attending a teacher's lectures.
   - Simple: To listen carefully to someone or something, for example at a talk.
   - _The committee gathered to hear the proposal in full._
   - _Thousands came to hear the orchestra perform the symphony._
4. Of a court or judge, to take up and try a case, listening to the people involved.
   - Simple: To listen to a legal case in court and decide it.
   - _The judge agreed to hear arguments from both sides before ruling._
   - _The court heard the dispute over the contested estate._
5. As hear from: to be contacted by someone, as by letter, call or message.
   - Simple: As hear from: to get a message or call from someone.
   - _Please write back so we can hear from you before the deadline._
   - _They were relieved to hear from their son after the storm._
7. To sympathize with someone; to understand their feelings or point of view. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To understand and care about how someone feels.
   - _I hear you, but I think there's another side to consider._
   - _She finally felt that her manager truly heard her concerns._
6. To listen favorably to someone; to grant a request, plea, or prayer.
   - Simple: To listen kindly to a request and agree to it.
   - _After years of trying for a child, she felt heaven had finally heard her prayers._
   - _She prayed that the gods would hear her plea._
9. To consent to or even entertain an idea, used with of and nearly always in the negative as a firm refusal.
   - Simple: To allow something or even think about it, said with 'of' and usually with 'not' to refuse firmly.
   - _The coach wouldn't hear of benching his star player, injury or not._
   - _When we suggested selling the family farm, Grandma refused to hear of it._

## Interjection

8. Used after a command to insist that the listener has understood and will comply.
   - Simple: Said to demand that someone listens to and accepts what you just said.
   - _Don't you ever do that again, you hear?_
   - _Be home by ten, you hear me, young lady?_

## Origin

"Hear" comes from Middle English "heren," from Old English "hīeran" ("to hear"), which traces back through Proto-Germanic "*hauzijaną" to a Proto-Indo-European form often explained as meaning "to be sharp-eared," from roots meaning "sharp" and "ear," though that analysis is uncertain. It is related to Dutch "horen," German "hören," Swedish "höra," and Ancient Greek "ἀκούω" (akoúō, "I hear").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/hear (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).