See also: Listen

EnglishEdit

 
English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Alternative formsEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Middle English listenen, listnen, alteration (due to Middle English listen (to listen, give heed to)) of Old English hlysnan (to listen), from Proto-Germanic *hlusnijaną, *hlusnōną (compare Middle High German lüsenen), from Proto-Germanic *hlusēną (compare Old High German hlosēn), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱlew- (to hear) (compare Ancient Greek κλαίω (klaíō, I make known, famous), Welsh clywed (to hear), Latin clueō (I am famous), Lithuanian klausýti, Old Church Slavonic слушати (slušati, to hear), Sanskrit श्रोषति (śróṣati). Related to loud and German lauschen.

PronunciationEdit

  • enPR: lĭs'ən, lĭs'n, IPA(key): /ˈlɪs.ən/, [ˈlɪs.n̩]
  • (file)
  • (file)
  • (file)
  • Rhymes: -ɪsən
  • Hyphenation: lis‧ten

VerbEdit

listen (third-person singular simple present listens, present participle listening, simple past and past participle listened)

  1. (intransitive) To pay attention to a sound or speech.
    Please listen carefully as I explain.  I like to listen to music.
    • 1922, Ben Travers, chapter 1, in A Cuckoo in the Nest[1]:
      He read the letter aloud. Sophia listened with the studied air of one for whom, even in these days, a title possessed some surreptitious allurement.
    • 2007, KT Tunstall (lyrics and music), “Saving My Face”, in Drastic Fantastic[2]:
      I'm listening to what you say / Even though I look the other way / But you could never understand / The feeling of what I'm needing
  2. (intransitive) To expect or wait for a sound, such as a signal.
    You should listen for the starting gun.
    • 1906, Stanley J[ohn] Weyman, chapter I, in Chippinge Borough, New York, N.Y.: McClure, Phillips & Co., →OCLC, page 01:
      It was April 22, 1831, and a young man was walking down Whitehall in the direction of Parliament Street. []. He halted opposite the Privy Gardens, and, with his face turned skywards, listened until the sound of the Tower guns smote again on the ear and dispelled his doubts.
    • 1912 January, Zane Grey, chapter 4, in Riders of the Purple Sage [], New York, N.Y.; London: Harper & Brothers Publishers, →OCLC:
      He reined Wrangle to a walk, halted now and then to listen, and then proceeded cautiously with shifting and alert gaze.
  3. (intransitive) To accept advice or obey instruction; to agree or assent.
    Listen, the only reason I yelled at you was because I was upset, OK?  Good children listen to their parents.
  4. (transitive, archaic) To hear (something or someone), to pay attention to.

Usage notesEdit

In English, listen and hear are two primary verbs relating to audial perception. To hear represents automatic, unconscious, or passive perception of sound, while listen generally represents intentional, conscious, or purposeful use of the sense of hearing. The difference is expressed in the following quotation:

As the silence took hold in the darkness, Sam realized that she had been hearing, though not listening to, various low-level sounds—the hum of air conditioning and life support, the pulse of some faraway oxygen pump, the faint buzz of the electrical and lighting systems. —Justin Richards (1999) Demontage, chapter 5, page 92.

A similar distinction exists between see and watch in English.

QuotationsEdit

SynonymsEdit

AntonymsEdit

Coordinate termsEdit

Derived termsEdit

Related termsEdit

TranslationsEdit

NounEdit

listen (plural listens)

  1. An instance of listening.
    Synonym: (of recorded audio) play
    Give the motor a listen and tell me if it sounds off.
    • 2016 March 29, Victor Luckerson, “There's a New Way To Listen To All the Remixes You Want”, in Time[3]:
      The diss song, “Back to Back,” now has more than 124 million listens, a sign that the streaming can attract a sizable audience for a single track.

See alsoEdit

AnagramsEdit

CzechEdit

 
Czech Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia cs

EtymologyEdit

From list +‎ -en.

PronunciationEdit

NounEdit

listen m inan

  1. (botany) bract

Further readingEdit

  • listen in Příruční slovník jazyka českého, 1935–1957
  • listen in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989
  • listen in Internetová jazyková příručka

DanishEdit

NounEdit

listen c

  1. definite singular of liste
  2. definite singular of list

DutchEdit

PronunciationEdit

NounEdit

listen

  1. Plural form of list

AnagramsEdit

GermanEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Liste +‎ -en.

PronunciationEdit

VerbEdit

listen (weak, third-person singular present listet, past tense listete, past participle gelistet, auxiliary haben)

  1. to list
    Synonym: auflisten

ConjugationEdit

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Related termsEdit

Further readingEdit

Norwegian BokmålEdit

Alternative formsEdit

NounEdit

listen m or f

  1. definite masculine singular of liste
  2. definite masculine singular of list

SpanishEdit

VerbEdit

listen

  1. inflection of listar:
    1. third-person plural present subjunctive
    2. third-person plural imperative

SwedishEdit

NounEdit

listen

  1. definite singular of list.

AnagramsEdit