listener

noun

lis·​ten·​er ˈli-sᵊn-ər 

ˈlis-nər

plural listeners

: one who listens to someone or something

a radio program with many listeners

a friend who's a good listener [=who listens attentively and sympathetically]

Fanny, being always a very courteous listener, and often the only listener at hand, came in for the complaints and distresses of most of them.

—Jane Austen

The average concertgoer drifts in and out of the music, often losing the thread. The listener can't always hear the music in the music, and tends to notice only the most obvious (usually the loudest) events.

—David Schiff

Examples of listener in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Friedland, a tried-and-true Drake fan, was struck less by the beef itself than by how eagerly some white listeners joined the song’s moral chorus. — Jeff Ihaza, Rolling Stone, 29 June 2026

Sehgal stripped the familiar tunes of key elements, hoping that listeners would fill the negative space. — Dan Greene, New Yorker, 29 June 2026

Audiobook listeners can also access full-cast recordings on Audible. — Raven Brunner, PEOPLE, 1 July 2026

For example, recent episodes about the benefits of music, the health costs of air pollution, solving societal and economic inequality, and the importance of gut health can help listeners. — Frank Racioppi, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1572, in the meaning defined above