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

Longtime listeners might not be surprised to see the surge, given how much of a priority the song has always been for Fike and his fans. —Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 12 Mar. 2026

Most of these pieces have a lot going on, designed for listeners who take pleasure in guiding their ear through each successive layer. —Mark Richardson, Pitchfork, 12 Mar. 2026

But Sexistential may discomfit listeners for reasons other than ageism. —Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 11 Mar. 2026

View Outside’s longstanding literary storytelling tradition comes to life in audio with features that will both entertain and inform listeners. —Outside Online, 11 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1572, in the meaning defined above