listen
Americanverb (used without object)
-
listens,
present (3rd person singular)
-
listened,
past participle, past
-
listening
present participle
-
to give attention with the ear; attend closely for the purpose of hearing; give ear.
-
to pay attention; heed; obey (often followed byto ).
Children don't always listen to their parents.
-
to wait attentively for a sound (usually followed byfor ).
to listen for sounds of their return.
-
Informal. to convey a particular impression to the hearer; sound.
The new recording doesn't listen as well as the old one.
verb (used with object)
-
listens,
present (3rd person singular)
-
listened,
past participle, past
-
listening
present participle
verb phrase
verb
-
to concentrate on hearing something
-
to take heed; pay attention
I told you many times but you wouldn't listen
Synonym Usage
See hear.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
listensimple
-
listenssimple
-
have listenedperfect
-
has listenedperfect
-
am listeningprogressive
-
are listeningprogressive
-
is listeningprogressive
-
have been listeningperfect progressive
-
has been listeningperfect progressive
Past
-
listenedsimple
-
had listenedperfect
-
was listeningprogressive
-
were listeningprogressive
-
had been listeningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of listen
First recorded before 950; Middle English lis(t)nen, Old English hlysnan; cognate with Middle High German lüsenen, Swedish lyssna; akin to list 5
Explanation
If you really listen late at night after everyone's asleep, you'll hear the noises your house makes — the creaking of walls and floors, the hum of the refrigerator, the banging of the radiators. When you listen to something, you don't just hear it, but you really pay attention to the sounds. You can listen to music, listen for the sound of your guests arriving, or listen to the advice your grandfather gives you. The phrase listen in means to eavesdrop on, or deliberately overhear, a conversation. The t in the middle of the word listen is silent (you can't hear it even if you listen).
Vocabulary lists containing listen
Mother's Day Words: What Mothers Do
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Part 1 Vocabulary (Unit 3)
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Spelling Practice, Unit 7
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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:
Most of the songs that Mr. Wade refers to are available to readers with a keystroke, and readers would do well to listen along.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
Kevin Reddington, Clancy's main lawyer, told a Massachusetts court Thursday that there is "one juror who refuses to listen to the law that you've given him or her on reasonable doubt."
From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026
Soothe your inner child with some nostalgic tunes: When Rebecca Knight became a parent, she vowed that her kids wouldn’t listen to Raffi.
From Slate ● Sep. 2, 2026
Radio Scotland Mornings have spoken to the Hunter Family as part of a series on violence against women - you can listen to the full programme here.
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026
Like all of us, she was straining to listen, to make some sense out of the murmur of voices we could all hear on the other side of that door.
From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo
How to speak so someone listens, how to make eye contact, how to focus on what’s happening between two people.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
Her husband listens, awaiting his turn to speak.
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
As part of his reporting, he regularly listens to corporate earnings calls and began noticing a pattern: When publicly traded alcohol companies missed sales targets, executives often reached for the same explanation.
From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026
He often sits with the herd, feeds them cookies and other treats and listens to their calls, adding to a language he’s been learning since childhood.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2026
I think He’s a God who listens as if we are his most important children, and I think He speaks to tell us so.
From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri
Oliver said she had loved music for as long as she could remember, citing Genesis, Pink Floyd, James Blunt and Birdy among the artists she listened to while she was growing up.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
He filed complaints with authorities under the former Republic and "tried so hard" to get justice, but "no one listened".
From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026
The crowd listened in silence as the Polynesians, wearing blue fire uniforms, sang a Tahitian hymn in harmony while two of them strummed ukuleles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026
He blended into the crowd, grew his beard, attended the mosques where the killers preached, listened, questioned, checked rumors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
Chase pulled on a pair of cargo pants, T-shirt, and tennis shoes, then listened to the weather on the radio as he ate breakfast.
From "Storm Runners" by Roland Smith
“We are listening to our consumers and the team has responded with speed and agility,” CEO Mick Beekhuizen said during Campbell’s earnings call.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 3, 2026
John Swinney spent much of the summer listening to survivors, families, and those working in the sector, as part of an effort to find the answers.
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026
“It is a continuing responsibility, demonstrated through listening, learning and one’s conduct over time.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
"But we're listening to people and if there are other challenges that we need to overcome... we'll continuously ensure that we perform the best given the challenges."
From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026
By asking simple yes-or-no questions, listening for raps or silences, Mother learned that their spirit was a man.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
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.
