listen

verb lis·ten \ ˈli-sᵊn \

|Updated on: 11 Jul 2018

Examples: listen in a Sentence

listened; listening play \ˈlis-niŋ, ˈli-sᵊn-iŋ\

transitive verb

archaic : to give ear to : hear

intransitive verb

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

—

listener

play \ˈlis-nər, ˈli-sᵊn-ər\ noun

See listen defined for English-language learners

See listen defined for kids

Examples of listen in a Sentence

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 of listen from the Web

Die-ins are emotionally intense, but there are few comfortable ways to put your message into the ears of those who refuse to listen.

— jenni corwin, Teen Vogue, "What Exactly a Die-In Is, and How to Organize Your Own," 6 July 2018
To listen to either of Future’s Beast Mode projects is to submerge yourself in his agony and emerge with a strange acceptance of your own.

— hannah giorgis, The Atlantic, "The Cathartic Symphony of Future’s Beast Mode 2," 6 July 2018
Powell would proffer a wholly new outlook by claiming that Americans needed to listen not only to their hearts, pocketbooks and deep aspirations, but to what the land itself and the climate would tell them.

— john f. ross, Smithsonian, "The Visionary John Wesley Powell Had a Plan for Developing the West, But Nobody Listened," 3 July 2018
Feed your mind on encouraging words, read successful books or listen to podcasts that fuel your spirit.

— kimberly thompson, Houston Chronicle, "Career Rescue: Take steps to handle job-search stress," 1 July 2018
Both Google and Amazon have filed patent applications for devices designed to listen for mood shifts and emotions in the human voice.

— katrina brooker, The Hive, "“I Was Devastated”: Tim Berners-Lee, the Man Who Created the World Wide Web, Has Some Regrets," 1 July 2018
Read the signs at every water park attraction and listen to all audio instructions provided by recordings or staff.

— PEOPLE.com, "Headed to a Water Park This Summer? Here's What You Need to Know to Stay Safe," 28 June 2018
But part of what makes the 30-year-old singer and entrepreneur so successful on the Internet is her own ability to listen.

— time staff, Time, "The 25 Most Influential People on the Internet," 28 June 2018
Of course, there’s still the question of whether the member or the candidate is willing to listen.

— jeffrey mervis, Science | AAAS, "Science candidates: High-tech smarts aren’t enough for defeated Obama aide," 28 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'listen.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of listen

Middle English listnen, from Old English hlysnan; akin to Sanskrit śroṣati he hears, Old English hlūd loud

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

in the meaning defined at transitive sense

See Words from the same year

listen Synonyms

Phrases

prick up one's ears;

listen

noun

: an act of listening

See listen defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of listen from the Web

Take a listen to Ebro's chat with Rosenberg and Stylez below.

— carl lamarre, Billboard, "Hot 97's Ebro Darden Claims Kanye West Was Almost Featured on Drake's 'Nice for What'," 29 May 2018
The perfect song of the summer doesn’t always identify itself on first listen.

— hannah giorgis, The Atlantic, "Cardi B’s ‘I Like It’ Is the Song of the Summer," 29 May 2018
The track now has 3.9 million listens and counting on Spotify, only seven months after its release.

— erica gonzales, Harper's BAZAAR, "Lolo Zouaï Makes Bad Days Look Cool in Her "Blue" Music Video," 25 May 2018
Take a listen to SHINee, T-ARA, TVXQ!, and Super Junior.

— taylor glasby, Teen Vogue, "The K-Pop Beginner's Guide: BTS, Girls' Generation, and More," 23 May 2018
In spirit of the show, Nilay pulls up Walt’s original review for the product Take a listen here in The Vergecast podcast feed.

— andrew marino, The Verge, "Walt Mossberg on the iMac’s 20th anniversary," 11 May 2018
Our Jim Axelrod has been giving her a listen: In her journals Helena Bala keeps a record of other people's secrets – notes from more than 300 conversations she's had in the past few years.

— CBS News, "The stories behind Craigslist Confessional," 29 Apr. 2018
Justin Timberlake gave American Express card members and members of the press an exclusive first listen of his upcoming album Man of the Woods on Wednesday in New York City, and wife Jessica Biel was right there by his side.

— dave quinn, PEOPLE.com, "Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel Cuddle Up at Man of the Woods Listening Party," 18 Jan. 2018
Time to take a listen to Archy Marshall, the now-23-year-old Brit songwriter who first emerged as the Zoo Kid in 2010 and who released The Ooz, his second album as King Krule, last year.

— dan deluca, Philly.com, "Dan DeLuca's Mix Picks: Music from Prince's vault, plus King Krule, Soccer Mommy and Calexico," 26 Apr. 2018

Origin and Etymology of listen

see ¹listen

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1788

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

LISTEN Defined for English Language Learners

listen

verb

: to pay attention to someone or something in order to hear what is being said, sung, played, etc.
—used to tell a person to listen to what you are saying
: to hear what someone has said and understand that it is serious, important, or true