listener

[lis-uh-ner]

noun

1. someone who gives attention with the ear, especially for the purpose of hearing specific sounds, speech, instructions, etc..

   At story time, you may choose to be a reader or a listener.

2. someone who listens to a radio broadcast or to a specific radio program.

   They attract teenage listeners with pop songs about first love.

Word History and Origins

Origin of listener¹

First recorded in 1600–20; listen ( def. ) + -er ¹ ( def. )

Example Sentences

Its grip on listeners has grown as it expanded into podcasts and audio books, though the firm's dominance has prompted frequent clashes with musicians, who have criticised its payment practices.

From BBC

“His voice caught me first,” Rodriguez told me, “that very distinctive tone, and then I heard the listeners calling in. The rawness of connecting with a listener, of spinning the record, it was something.”

From Los Angeles Times

That has not gone unnoticed by the genre's biggest artists - including US country star Luke Combs, who boasts more than 25 million monthly listeners on Spotify and 7.5 million Instagram followers.

From BBC

“As always, we leave those creative decisions to artists themselves while continuing our work to protect them against spam, impersonation, and deception, and providing listeners with greater transparency about the music they hear.”

From Los Angeles Times

In hindsight, the record is a departure mostly in the sense that the record demands listeners’ undivided attention and is best absorbed all at once.

From Salon

Related Words

• audience