listen

American  

[lis-uhn] / ˈlɪs ən /

verb (used without object)

• listens,
  present (3rd person singular)
• listened,
  past participle,  past
• listening
  present participle

1. to give attention with the ear; attend closely for the purpose of hearing; give ear.

2. to pay attention; heed; obey (often followed byto ).

   Children don't always listen to their parents.

3. to wait attentively for a sound (usually followed byfor ).

   to listen for sounds of their return.

4. Informal. to convey a particular impression to the hearer; sound.

   The new recording doesn't listen as well as the old one.

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verb (used with object)

• listens,
  present (3rd person singular)
• listened,
  past participle,  past
• listening
  present participle

1. Archaic. to give ear to; hear.

verb phrase

1. listen in

   1. to listen to a radio or television broadcast.

      Listen in tomorrow for the names of the lottery winners.

   2. to overhear a conversation or communication, especially by telephone; eavesdrop.

      Someone was listening in to his private calls.

listen British  

/ ˈlɪsən /

verb

1. to concentrate on hearing something

2. to take heed; pay attention

   I told you many times but you wouldn't listen

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Synonym Usage

See hear.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• listener
  noun
• relisten
  verb
• unlistening
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• listening
  present
• listened
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• listen
  simple
• listens
  simple
• have listened
  perfect
• has listened
  perfect
• am listening
  progressive
• are listening
  progressive
• is listening
  progressive
• have been listening
  perfect progressive
• has been listening
  perfect progressive

Past

• listened
  simple
• had listened
  perfect
• was listening
  progressive
• were listening
  progressive
• had been listening
  perfect progressive

Future

• will listen
  simple
• will have listened
  perfect
• will be listening
  progressive
• will have been listening
  perfect progressive

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).

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

listen listens listened listening

Who do you think the American public will listen to?

From Salon ● Aug. 21, 2026

But they did not listen, instead focusing on adding ever-more complexities to the rules to try to address some of the consequences of it.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

"We want the government to talk to the people, to listen to the people. After all, it's us, the country that elected Zelensky".

From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026

“And they told me, and I was like, ‘Oh, this sounds like an interesting project, something that we ought to be involved in, and really listen to these locals.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026

I needed to lie down and sleep, but Mr. Weiss gave a speech and I had to listen, or at least to look as though I were listening.

From "Black Star, Bright Dawn" by Scott O'Dell

The more he listens to the cassette, the more he likes what he hears and the more his spirits rise.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

“The only thing I can hope for is that some other person out there listens to it and relates to the same things that I do.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026

"They told me they are really dissatisfied with all the existing political parties, because nobody listens to them," he said.

From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026

"When anybody listens to the album they'll have tears laughing and crying at the same time ."

From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026

To be outside the place where He speaks or listens.

From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri

“I can’t remember the last time I listened to music while driving,” said Wright.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

I did fine, but no one really listened.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

Some of the students also said they did not feel that the government listened to their concerns and they felt they had a lack of influence over decision-making.

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

She adds: "I hope that other victims in the future will be believed, will be dealt with differently, will be listened to straightaway, and I just hope that there's change".

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

We listened to the gramophone instead, and longed every day for the war to be over, for Papi to be home again with us.

From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo

Executives had found an unexpected pairing that works: Inviting people to the theme park — a place many associate with childhood and simpler times — to experience the music they grew up listening to.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

Earnings-call word choice is rarely accidental—whether it’s Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan quietly sliding obscure SAT words into scripts or retail leaders sending signals to anyone who’s listening.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

Before listening to the arguments in detail, the Court of Appeal judges must decide whether the grounds justify granting Patterson leave to challenge her conviction at all.

From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026

"There's a strong message going out - it's time to start listening and it's time to turn things around because we're not going anywhere."

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

As he continued his conversation with Handsome, it was clear that the stranger was content to graze nearby, listening.

From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el

Related Words

• accept
• admit
• attend
• get
• observe
• take notice
• tune in