51Թ

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View synonyms for

listen

[ lis-uhn ]

verb (used without object)

  1. to give attention with the ear; attend closely for the purpose of hearing; give ear.
  2. to pay attention; heed; obey (often followed by to ):

    Children don't always listen to their parents.

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

    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.



verb (used with object)

  1. Archaic. to give ear to; hear.

verb phrase

    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

/ ˈɪə /

verb

  1. to concentrate on hearing something
  2. to take heed; pay attention

    I told you many times but you wouldn't listen

“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
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Derived Forms

  • ˈٱԱ, noun
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Other 51Թ Forms

  • t· noun
  • ·t verb
  • ܲ·t·Բ adjective
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51Թ History and Origins

Origin of listen1

First recorded before 950; Middle English lis(t)nen, Old English hlysnan; cognate with Middle High German üԱ, Swedish lyssna; akin to list 5
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51Թ History and Origins

Origin of listen1

Old English hlysnan; related to Old High German ūٰŧ
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Synonym Study

See hear.
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

I heard someone say, “Johnson will have to listen to us now.”

From

Mr Mosquera, a Colombian national, sat in the dock and listened to proceedings with the help of an interpreter.

From

She still can’t explain why she picked up and then listened to a cold-caller’s pitch that sounded a lot like a scam.

From

“If you listen to it carefully, you hear a woman narrating her own murder,” Orange County Deputy Dist.

From

And then, flash forward 30 or so years later, I’m like, “Oh wow, listen to those mourning doves!”

From

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