listen for
idiom
: to pay attention to sounds in order to hear (something expected)
We listened for (the sound of) his footsteps.
We saw lightning and listened for the thunder.
Examples of listen for in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Monitor the sky for threatening signs and listen for the sound of thunder.
—
Southern California Weather Report, Oc Register, 27 Sep. 2025
The stopgap solution here would be to put your ear to the ground and listen for this need under the demand, and responding to it directly.
—Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025
Monitor the sky for threatening signs and listen for the sound of thunder.
—Bay Area Weather Report, Mercury News, 12 Sep. 2025
When the spacecraft fly over radio-quiet antenna arrays, tuned to listen for the quietest radio waves coming from distant galaxies, the noise from the satellites' internal electronics obscures some of the precious observation frequencies even when Earth-facing internet beams are switched off.
—Tereza Pultarova, Space.com, 11 Sep. 2025
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Southern California Weather Report, Oc Register, 27 Sep. 2025
The stopgap solution here would be to put your ear to the ground and listen for this need under the demand, and responding to it directly.
—Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025
Monitor the sky for threatening signs and listen for the sound of thunder.
—Bay Area Weather Report, Mercury News, 12 Sep. 2025
When the spacecraft fly over radio-quiet antenna arrays, tuned to listen for the quietest radio waves coming from distant galaxies, the noise from the satellites' internal electronics obscures some of the precious observation frequencies even when Earth-facing internet beams are switched off.
—Tereza Pultarova, Space.com, 11 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for listen for
Cite this Entry
“Listen for.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/listen%20for. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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