hear
Americanverb (used with object)
-
hears,
present (3rd person singular)
-
heard,
past participle, past
-
hearing
present participle
-
to perceive by the ear.
Didn't you hear the doorbell?
- Synonyms:
- attend
-
to learn by the ear or by being told; be informed of.
to hear news.
- Synonyms:
- attend
-
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.
- Synonyms:
- attend
-
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.
- Antonyms:
- disregard
-
(of a computer) to perceive by speech recognition.
verb (used without object)
-
hears,
present (3rd person singular)
-
heard,
past participle, past
-
hearing
present participle
-
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 byof ).
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.)
verb
-
(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?
-
to be informed (of); receive information (about)
to hear of his success
have you heard?
-
law to give a hearing to (a case)
-
to listen (to) with favour, assent, etc
she wouldn't hear of it
-
to receive a letter, news, etc (from)
-
an exclamation used to show approval of something said
-
dialect to be told (about); learn (of)
Synonym Usage
Hear, listen apply to the perception of sound. To hear is to have such perception by means of the auditory sense: to hear distant bells. To listen is to give attention in order to hear and understand the meaning of a sound or sounds: to listen to what is being said; to listen for a well-known footstep.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
hearsimple
-
hearssimple
-
have heardperfect
-
has heardperfect
-
am hearingprogressive
-
are hearingprogressive
-
is hearingprogressive
-
have been hearingperfect progressive
-
has been hearingperfect progressive
Past
-
heardsimple
-
had heardperfect
-
was hearingprogressive
-
were hearingprogressive
-
had been hearingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of hear
First recorded before 950; Middle English heren, Old English hēran, hīeran; cognate with Dutch horen, German hören, Old Norse heyra, Gothic hausjan; perhaps akin to Greek akoúein ( see acoustic)
Explanation
When you hear, you perceive a noise made by someone or something — like a person’s voice, the song of a bird, or the torturous sound of a ticking clock on a sleepless night. While hear generally means to perceive a noise, it has several senses, including to listen carefully, as to a story. If you hear from someone, they have contacted you in some way, such as by phone call, email, or even snail mail. A judge will also hear a case when she presides over a trial. And when you hear the news, you’ve gotten information or found something out. But you didn’t hear it from me.
Vocabulary lists containing hear
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Helen Wilson said it was "devastating" to hear her sister Linda Langhelt had been diagnosed with mesothelioma.
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
When Day and Fisher stop for a 90-second break to practice a dance they’ve been working on, they hear a voice scream out for help from the forest.
From Salon ● Aug. 24, 2026
Walmart’s fashion push under Incandela began nearly a decade ago, when Walmart’s top executives gathered in a conference room inside their Bentonville, Ark., headquarters to hear from her.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
“Did you hear that too before you sued?”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2026
Sometimes you'll hear brain researchers talk about a "right brain" or a "left brain" skill.
From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman
Raman quickly shot back, saying she hears criticism of Bass from residents across the city who have had to contend with diminished services and deteriorating streets and sidewalks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
When Rees hears of the mobile-home park being relocated, she thinks of the landlord who gets to retire with a windfall after chasing rent for years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
Fasulo says he frequently hears from followers who replaced the wrong parts on their cars after taking flawed advice from a chatbot.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026
Kurosawa is also of two minds regarding what he frequently hears from Japanese film students, that their goal is getting into top festivals, winning awards and securing global recognition.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026
She just told me our family hears things.
From "Clairboyance" by Kristiana Kahakauwila
Inzerillo said the method saves him significant time when he tries to recall where he heard a fact.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
“Our team is dedicated to minimizing any adverse effects on voters, and we will work diligently to safeguard their ability to make their voices heard and ensure their votes are properly recorded,” Logan said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026
Caroline's family are bringing a High Court claim against Cardiff council over her death, with the case set to be heard in early 2027.
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
“They don’t have to go with the only lender that they’ve heard of.”
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 24, 2026
But Father prefers me being seen, not heard.
From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Dott, who won the sport's world championship at The Crucible in 2006, will be sentenced at a separate hearing in Edinburgh on 29 September.
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
But within weeks of the testy hearing, both Mahr and Guzman unexpectedly resigned—the latest in a string of finance officials to depart over the past year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
At Monday's brief hearing, the pair each wore black leather jackets with jeans and stood quietly holding hands behind their lawyers.
From Barron's ● Aug. 24, 2026
Additionally, hearing of the institution’s employee strikes, dismissals and downsizing due to lower enrollments, I respectfully declined.
From Salon ● Aug. 24, 2026
I need her to tell me that what I’m thinking isn’t really what I think I’m hearing.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
