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hear

[ heer ]

/ hɪər /

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See synonyms for: hear / heard / hearing / hearable on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), heard

[hurd], /hɜrd/, hear·ing.

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.

verb (used without object), heard

[hurd], /hɜrd/, hear·ing.

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).

OTHER WORDS FOR hear

1, 2 attend.

4 attend.

7 regard, heed.

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OPPOSITES FOR hear

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VIDEO FOR HEAR

What Is The Difference Between The Words "Hear" And "Listen"?

See, everybody says they want to be heard. But, in actuality, they want to be listened to.

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QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

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)

synonym study for hear

1, 2. 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 WORDS FROM hear

hear·a·ble, adjectivehear·er, nounout·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

1. hear , here2. heard , herd

Words nearby hear

Healy, Heaney, HEAO, heap, heaping, hear, hear a peep out of, hear a pin drop, can, heard, Heard and McDonald Islands, Heard Island and McDonald Islands

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|FiveThirtyEight
There have been, like, two or three from what I’ve heard, but I haven’t seen it.
Even the most cautious schools are seeing outbreaks|Sy Mukherjee|September 17, 2020|Fortune
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|FiveThirtyEight
That’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|ProPublica

A 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|DAILY BEAST
Or has the see and hear and speak-no-evil stance of the Republican House persuaded him that he is in the clear?
The Price of Steve Scalise’s Silence|Jason Berry|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
Betrayal…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|DAILY BEAST
Every 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|DAILY BEAST
Liszt 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 Fay
But 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 Fay
And 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) Ogden
Above 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

hear

/ (hɪə) /

verb hears, hearing or heard (hɜːd)

(tr) to perceive (a sound) with the sense of hearing

(tr; may take a clause as object) to listen todid 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, etcshe 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)

Derived forms of hear

hearable, adjectivehearer, noun

Word Origin for hear

Old English hieran; related to Old Norse heyra, Gothic hausjan, Old High German hōren, Greek akouein

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

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.