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:
Zverev didn’t even appear to hear the chair umpire say “Game, set, match.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
I’ve yet to hear a single person call it that without an eyeroll.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026
Some residents in an east London tower block have said they did not hear any alarms during a fire in which a man died on the 17th floor.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
“We want you to hear it from us,” a Notes-app-style message on Instagram began.
From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2026
“No, not surprised—just over it. My aunt said the Faith and Honor people are planning to march. Did you hear anything about that?”
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
Letsch, the elder-law attorney in Iowa, said she often hears from families trying to untangle messes with farms because they’ve been given bad advice.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026
The only thing that really matters is whether the kid runs out the door to play, or has to be pried off the bed like a cat that hears the bathtub running.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
"The clarification is intended to protect the integrity of each performance and to ensure the audience always hears the lead vocals on each song performed live," said the EBU.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
On business trips to Europe, he sometimes hears complaints about China’s export strength.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
He hears the chatter from the porch, the wishes and prayers.
From "A Bird Will Soar" by Alison Green Myers
The court heard he suffered a serious traumatic brain injury, a significant skull fracture and a blood clot.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
I heard his more contemporary stuff that I wasn’t really interested in, but I saw that he was gonna be a big deal.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband took the floor in the House of Commons on Sept. 8 to deliver one of the most remarkable speeches heard there in many years.
From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2026
A Khamis Mushait resident told AFP he heard "intense blasts" which left fires burning for a "long time".
From Barron's ● Sep. 14, 2026
However, as the humans drew closer, Clare heard a sound that squashed any good feelings.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
Sacoolas admitted causing death by careless driving at a virtual court hearing in December 2022 and was sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for a year.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
"As for other subjects, I will address those after hearing from the new governor," she said.
From Barron's ● Sep. 14, 2026
The case goes to a congressional hearing, where Road Runner bursts into the room and becomes the only creature to testify on Coyote’s behalf.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026
In a March hearing before a Senate budget subcommittee, Corrections Secretary Jeff Macomber said he’s eager to end his agency’s control over closed prison sites.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026
It was a chill raw morning in late May: after three months in prison I had been called for my first hearing.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
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.
