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

Interested in changing things up, the station hosts a holiday promotion that would catch listeners' attention. —Angela Andaloro, PEOPLE, 26 Nov. 2025

Kurt Cobain would have wanted the next generation’s musicians and listeners to kill their idols, including him. —W. David Marx, The Atlantic, 25 Nov. 2025

Saadiq, a three-time Grammy-winning artist and producer in his own right, eases listeners in with the first verse, only for Caton to then blow the room off each venue with his soulful runs in the back half of the blues song. —Marcus Jones, IndieWire, 25 Nov. 2025

Not to mention, animals also make excellent listeners. —Charles Trepany, USA Today, 25 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1572, in the meaning defined above