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

According to Luminate, Spanish is the second most-listened to language in music, by far, with 24% of American music listeners consuming music in Spanish (French trails in third place at 8%). —Leila Cobo, Billboard, 8 Oct. 2025

As listeners, no one has the full context of Swift and Charli’s dynamic. —Tomás Mier, Rolling Stone, 8 Oct. 2025

Bing Crosby, whose soothing baritone has the power to transport any listener to simpler times, narrates the tale. —Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Oct. 2025

From February to April that year, her Spotify monthly listeners increased 500%. —Eleanor Nash, Kansas City Star, 5 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1572, in the meaning defined above