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

Her listeners may be onto something—by 2030, demographers expect that 45 percent of women ages 25-44 will be single. — Emily Kelleher, InStyle, 9 Sep. 2026

The producers hope to remind listeners’ of how much country, bluegrass, and Americana owe the Stanley Brothers, who also influenced artists from Bob Dylan to Bruce Springsteen. — Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 9 Sep. 2026

In this episode, Throughline takes on a listener's question to explore what the 19th-century Luddite rebellion can teach us about technology and human agency. — Rund Abdelfatah, NPR, 8 Sep. 2026

As part of the show, David will answer a selection of listener questions submitted through The Athletic, covering all the latest news from across the football world, and discussing them with Emma Paton and James Horncastle. — David Ornstein, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1572, in the meaning defined above