listened; listening
ˈli-sᵊn-iŋ 
ˈlis-niŋ
1
: to pay attention to sound
listen to music
2
: to hear something with thoughtful attention : give consideration
listen to a plea
3
: to be alert to catch an expected sound
listen for his step
archaic
: hear
Examples of listen in a Sentence
Verb
I listened as hard as I could, but I couldn't hear a word of what he said over all that noise.
She listened with interest as he told her about his travels.
She tried to warn him of the dangers, but he wouldn't listen.
Recent Examples on the Web
ABC News, 3 May 2026
The difficulty is that no one knows which frequency to listen to, so even decades of work have covered only a tiny fraction of possibilities.
—Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 3 May 2026
New York Times, 28 Apr. 2026
Today's listen A new project from the Marshall Project is highlighting music recorded in American prisons.
—Brittney Melton, NPR, 27 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for listen
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Verb
Yeah, listen, so the president has done very well in his career as a builder and as a president.
—ABC News, 3 May 2026
The difficulty is that no one knows which frequency to listen to, so even decades of work have covered only a tiny fraction of possibilities.
—Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 3 May 2026
Noun
Whether performed by Marvin Gaye, the Four Tops, the Rolling Stones, Linda Ronstadt, Aretha Franklin, Michael Jackson, the English Beat or the Grateful Dead, Robinson’s songs reveal new levels of nuance on even the 100th listen.
—New York Times, 28 Apr. 2026
Today's listen A new project from the Marshall Project is highlighting music recorded in American prisons.
—Brittney Melton, NPR, 27 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for listen
Cite this Entry
“Listen.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/listen. Accessed 7 May. 2026.
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