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

Bob told many stories about Jessye Norman, but the one that always brought him and his listeners to tears was of the great singer attempting to get through a Winterreise concert just after 9/11. — Keith McDermott, Vanity Fair, 30 Oct. 2026

The site reported that in the 2024 presidential election, those podcast listeners favored conservatives. — Karrin Vasby Anderson, The Conversation, 29 Oct. 2026

Many listeners didn’t catch the meaning of the song back then. — Elisabeth Garber-Paul, Rolling Stone, 29 Oct. 2026

Audiobooks combine compelling storytelling with expressive narration that can transport listeners to another world. — Theara Coleman, TheWeek, 28 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1572, in the meaning defined above