listen out for
phrasal verb
listened out for; listening out for; listens out for
British
: to pay attention to sounds in order to hear (something expected)
We listened out for (the sound of) his footsteps.
We saw lightning and listened out for the thunder.
Examples of listen out for in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
These listen out for the Shahed’s engine sound, and a central air defence system correlates microphone data to track the route of each drone and calculate its likely target.
—
David Hambling, Forbes, 12 Sep. 2024
On your smart speaker Smart speakers from Google, Apple, and Amazon will by default listen out for voice commands, enabling you to get the weather forecast or turn off your smart lights with a voice command.
—David Nield, Popular Science, 22 Feb. 2024
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David Hambling, Forbes, 12 Sep. 2024
On your smart speaker Smart speakers from Google, Apple, and Amazon will by default listen out for voice commands, enabling you to get the weather forecast or turn off your smart lights with a voice command.
—David Nield, Popular Science, 22 Feb. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Listen out for.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/listen%20out%20for. Accessed 23 May. 2025.
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