hear
to perceive by the ear: Didn't you hear the doorbell?
to learn by the ear or by being told; be informed of: to hear news.
to listen to; give or pay attention to: They refused to hear our side of the argument.
to be among the audience at or of (something): to hear a recital.
to give a formal, official, or judicial hearing to (something); consider officially, as a judge, sovereign, teacher, or assembly: to hear a case.
to take or listen to the evidence or testimony of (someone): to hear the defendant.
to listen to with favor, assent, or compliance.
(of a computer) to perceive by speech recognition.
to be capable of perceiving sound by the ear; have the faculty of perceiving sound vibrations.
to receive information by the ear or otherwise: to hear from a friend.
to listen with favor, assent, or compliance (often followed by of): I will not hear of your going.
(of a computer) to be capable of perceiving by speech recognition.
(used as an interjection in the phrase Hear! Hear! to express approval, as of a speech.)
Origin of hear
1synonym study For hear
Other words for hear
Opposites for hear
Other words from hear
- hear·a·ble, adjective
- hear·er, noun
- out·hear, verb (used with object), out·heard, out·hear·ing.
- re·hear, verb, re·heard, re·hear·ing.
- un·hear·a·ble, adjective
Words that may be confused with hear
Words Nearby hear
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use hear in a sentence
It feels like all season, you’ve heard over and over that the Clippers had a championship-caliber roster, and the franchise itself was not shy about confirming that.
Bam Adebayo Is Making Plays, Denver Is Making Us Look Bad, And The Lakers May Need To Make Some Adjustments | Chris Herring (chris.herring@fivethirtyeight.com) | September 17, 2020 | FiveThirtyEightThere have been, like, two or three from what I’ve heard, but I haven’t seen it.
Secular people have values too, she said, and hearing politicians and parties speak to those values can motivate them to get more politically involved.
More And More Americans Aren’t Religious. Why Are Democrats Ignoring These Voters? | Daniel Cox | September 17, 2020 | FiveThirtyEightThat’s because you’ll be hearing from us on Thursdays, starting today.
Mobilizing the National Guard Doesn’t Mean Your State Is Under Martial Law. Usually. | by Logan Jaffe | September 17, 2020 | ProPublicaA Pew Research Center survey released this week found that 47 percent of Americans had heard of the theory, up from just 23 percent in March.
Trump contradicts CDC director on vaccine; Biden says Americans shouldn’t trust Trump | Colby Itkowitz, Felicia Sonmez, John Wagner | September 16, 2020 | Washington Post
One wants speech to be free, but one doesn't actually want to hear it.
Politicians Only Love Journalists When They're Dead | Luke O’Neil | January 8, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTOr has the see and hear and speak-no-evil stance of the Republican House persuaded him that he is in the clear?
Do as Tumblr has done and scrub her last words off the Internet—erase everything she wanted the world to hear.
Cover-Ups and Concern Trolls: Actually, It's About Ethics in Suicide Journalism | Arthur Chu | January 3, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTBetrayal…you can hear it…betraying the thing he loves for a cheap bit of film publicity.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile | Robert Ward | January 3, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTEvery other band I had been in had been pretty loud, you could never hear the vocals.
Deer Tick's John McCauley on Ten Years in Rock and Roll | James Joiner | January 2, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTLiszt looked at it, and to her fright and dismay cried out in a fit of impatience, "No, I won't hear it!"
Music-Study in Germany | Amy FayBut I hope at least to play to him a few times, and what is more important, to hear him play repeatedly.
Music-Study in Germany | Amy FayAnd although we gabbled freely enough, MacRae avoided all mention of the persons of whom I most wished to hear.
Raw Gold | Bertrand W. Sinclair“And the matter of the will was all disposed of by the probate judge today, I hear,” said the judge, his hand on the door.
The Bondboy | George W. (George Washington) OgdenAbove all, he was amazed to hear me talk of a mercenary standing army in the midst of peace and among a free people.
Gulliver's Travels | Jonathan Swift
British Dictionary definitions for hear
/ (hɪə) /
(tr) to perceive (a sound) with the sense of hearing
(tr; may take a clause as object) to listen to: did you hear what I said?
(when intr, sometimes foll by of or about; when tr, may take a clause as object) to be informed (of); receive information (about): to hear of his success; have you heard?
law to give a hearing to (a case)
(when intr, usually foll by of and used with a negative) to listen (to) with favour, assent, etc: she wouldn't hear of it
(intr foll by from) to receive a letter, news, etc (from)
hear! hear! an exclamation used to show approval of something said
hear tell dialect to be told (about); learn (of)
Origin of hear
1Derived forms of hear
- hearable, adjective
- hearer, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with hear
In addition to the idioms beginning with hear
- hear a peep out of
- hear a pin drop, can
- hear from
- hear of
- hear oneself think, can't
- hear out
also see:
- another county heard from
- hard of hearing
- never hear the end of
- not have it (hear of it)
- unheard of
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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