# listen

Pronunciation: say "LIS-uhn" /ˈlɪs.n̩/

## Verb

1. To use one's sense of hearing in a deliberate way; to pay attention to or wait for a particular sound.
   - Simple: To pay attention to sounds on purpose, using your ears.
   - _Doctors listen to the heart and lungs with a stethoscope._
   - _We stopped talking and listened for footsteps in the dark hallway._
2. To accept advice or obey an instruction; to go along with what someone says.
   - Simple: To do what someone tells you or to take their advice.
   - _I warned her about the icy roads, but she wouldn't listen._
   - _The committee listened to the residents and canceled the construction project._

## Noun

3. An instance of listening; an occasion of paying attention to a sound, a recording, or a speaker.
   - Simple: A time when you pay attention to a sound, a song, or a recording.
   - _The new album deserves a careful listen from start to finish._
   - _After one quick listen, she could play the melody by ear._

## 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").

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