DictionaryAI

listen

LIS-uhn/ˈlɪs.n̩/

Verblistens, listening, listened

Noun plurallistens

Often confused with hear

3 meanings of listen

Practice

  1. 1
    pay attentionverbintransitive
    To use one's sense of hearing in a deliberate way; to pay attention to or wait for a particular sound.

    Doctors listen to the heart and lungs with a stethoscope.

    We stopped talking and listened for footsteps in the dark hallway.

    UsageSay listen to music (not incorrect: listen music), or listen for a sound. You hear without trying; listen is deliberate.

    Similarattend

    Oppositeignore

  2. 2
    take adviceverbintransitive
    To accept advice or obey an instruction; to go along with what someone says.

    I warned her about the icy roads, but she wouldn't listen.

    The committee listened to the residents and canceled the construction project.

    UsageOften alone at the end of a complaint: she wouldn't listen; or listen to someone's advice.

    Similarmind, heed

    Oppositedisregard

    Note

    Here attention turns into compliance: good children listen to their parents, meaning they do what they are told. A sentence-opening Listen, before an explanation, is different: it asks for a hearing rather than for obedience.

  3. 3
    a hearingnouncountable
    An instance of listening; an occasion of paying attention to a sound, a recording, or a speaker.

    The new album deserves a careful listen from start to finish.

    After one quick listen, she could play the melody by ear.

    UsageUsually give something a listen or have a listen.

    Similarhearing

    Note

    Two quite different lives share this noun. In give the motor a listen, it pairs with a light verb and turns one attentive hearing into something you give or take. In streaming it has become a countable unit, close to play. A track can rack up 124 million listens, and in Emily Segal's Mercury Retrograde (2020), a narrator's listens stay visible to someone on a shared music platform.

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

    • A track can accumulate 124 million listens. time.com
    • Emily Segal wrote Mercury Retrograde, first published in 2020. delugebooks.com
    • The novel's narrator says another person could still see her listens on their shared music platform. en.wiktionary.org

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of listen apart? Answer 4 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

This comes from Middle English "listenen," an altered form of Old English "hlysnan" ("to listen"), from Proto-Germanic and ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root *ḱlew- ("to hear"). It is related to "loud" and to Swedish "lyssna" ("to listen").

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 5 facts