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

Qawwali, which hails from India and Pakistan, is a musical performance of Sufi Muslim poetry — think Rumi and Hafez — infusing singing, handclaps and drumbeats to bring listeners to ecstatic heights. —Malaka Gharib, NPR, 23 May 2026

In his era of new beginnings and endings, Kali is most excited for listeners to feel inspired by the new music. —Elise Brisco, Rolling Stone, 22 May 2026

For heady listeners, this will be a field day; for others, a test of faith. —Lily Goldberg, Pitchfork, 22 May 2026

Then, before the listener can fully settle in, the Puerto Rican rapper and singer fires off bars claiming that Grammys were stolen from him and details his many nights spent sleeping on the floor to his new normal of earning $500,000 per show. —Los Angeles Times, 22 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1572, in the meaning defined above