listen


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lis·ten

(lĭs′ən)
intr.v. lis·tened, lis·ten·ing, lis·tens
1. To make an effort to hear something: listen to the radio; listen for the bell that ends class.
2. To pay attention; heed: "She encouraged me to listen carefully to what country people called mother wit" (Maya Angelou).
n.
An act of listening: Would you like to give the CD a listen before buying it?
Phrasal Verb:
listen in
1. To listen to a conversation between others; eavesdrop.
2. To tune in and listen to a broadcast.
Idiom:
listen up
Used as command to get a group or individual to pay attention: Listen up, everyone—we have to evacuate!
[Middle English listenen, alteration (influenced by listen, to list, listen; see list4) of Old English hlysnan; see kleu- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]
lis′ten·er n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

listen

(ˈlɪsən)
vb (intr)
1. to concentrate on hearing something
2. to take heed; pay attention: I told you many times but you wouldn't listen.
[Old English hlysnan; related to Old High German lūstrēn]
ˈlistener n
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

lis•ten

(ˈlɪs ən)
v.i.
1. to give attention with the ear; attend closely for the purpose of hearing.
2. to heed; obey (often fol. by to): Children don't always listen to their parents.
3. to wait attentively to perceive a sound or signal (usu. fol. by for): to listen for footsteps.
v.t.
4. Archaic. to give ear to; hear.
5. listen in,
a. to listen to a broadcast, as on the radio: Listen in tomorrow for the conclusion.
b. to listen to a conversation without joining it.
c. to eavesdrop (often fol. by on or to): Someone was listening in on our call.
[before 950; Middle English lis(t)nen, Old English hlysnan, c. Middle High German lüsenen]
lis′ten•er, n.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

listen

  • ear to the ground - It was early Native Americans who taught us to, literally, keep an ear to the ground to listen for horses' hooves as riders approached.
  • scout - From the Latin ausculture, "to listen," it became Old French escoute, "a spy."
  • hearken - To pay attention or listen; it can also mean "to return to a previous topic."
  • listen, hear - To listen is to try to hear; to hear is simply to perceive with the ear.
Farlex Trivia Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.

listen


Past participle: listened
Gerund: listening

Imperative
listen
listen
Present
I listen
you listen
he/she/it listens
we listen
you listen
they listen
Preterite
I listened
you listened
he/she/it listened
we listened
you listened
they listened
Present Continuous
I am listening
you are listening
he/she/it is listening
we are listening
you are listening
they are listening
Present Perfect
I have listened
you have listened
he/she/it has listened
we have listened
you have listened
they have listened
Past Continuous
I was listening
you were listening
he/she/it was listening
we were listening
you were listening
they were listening
Past Perfect
I had listened
you had listened
he/she/it had listened
we had listened
you had listened
they had listened
Future
I will listen
you will listen
he/she/it will listen
we will listen
you will listen
they will listen
Future Perfect
I will have listened
you will have listened
he/she/it will have listened
we will have listened
you will have listened
they will have listened
Future Continuous
I will be listening
you will be listening
he/she/it will be listening
we will be listening
you will be listening
they will be listening
Present Perfect Continuous
I have been listening
you have been listening
he/she/it has been listening
we have been listening
you have been listening
they have been listening
Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been listening
you will have been listening
he/she/it will have been listening
we will have been listening
you will have been listening
they will have been listening
Past Perfect Continuous
I had been listening
you had been listening
he/she/it had been listening
we had been listening
you had been listening
they had been listening
Conditional
I would listen
you would listen
he/she/it would listen
we would listen
you would listen
they would listen
Past Conditional
I would have listened
you would have listened
he/she/it would have listened
we would have listened
you would have listened
they would have listened
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Verb1.listen - hear with intention; "Listen to the sound of this cello"
perceive, comprehend - to become aware of through the senses; "I could perceive the ship coming over the horizon"
hear out - listen to every detail and give a full hearing to
listen in - listen quietly, without contributing to the conversation
advert, give ear, pay heed, attend, hang - give heed (to); "The children in the audience attended the recital quietly"; "She hung on his every word"; "They attended to everything he said"
hark, harken, hearken - listen; used mostly in the imperative
eavesdrop, listen in - listen without the speaker's knowledge; "the jealous man was eavesdropping on his wife's conversations"
eavesdrop, listen in - listen without the speaker's knowledge; "the jealous man was eavesdropping on his wife's conversations"
2.listen - listen and pay attention; "Listen to your father"; "We must hear the expert before we make a decision"
take heed, hear
focus, pore, rivet, center, centre, concentrate - direct one's attention on something; "Please focus on your studies and not on your hobbies"
incline - bend or turn (one's ear) towards a speaker in order to listen well; "He inclined his ear to the wise old man"
3.listen - pay close attention tolisten - pay close attention to; give heed to; "Heed the advice of the old men"
heed, mind
obey - be obedient to
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

listen

verb
1. hear, attend, pay attention, hark, be attentive, be all ears, lend an ear, hearken (archaic), prick up your ears, give ear, keep your ears open, pin back your ears (informal) He spent his time listening to the radio.
2. pay attention, observe, obey, mind, concentrate, heed, take notice, take note of, take heed of, do as you are told, give heed to When I asked him to stop, he wouldn't listen.
listen in on something eavesdrop, monitor, tap, spy, bug (informal), overhear, intrude, pry, snoop (informal), earwig (informal) He assigned federal agents to listen in on their phone calls.
Quotations
"Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears" [William Shakespeare Julius Caesar]
"We have two ears and only one tongue in order that we may hear more and speak less" [Diogenes Laertius Lives of the Philosophers]
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

listen

verb
1. To make an effort to hear something:
hark, hearken.
Archaic: list.
Idiom: give an ear.
2. To perceive by ear, usually attentively:
attend, hark, hear, heed.
Archaic: hearken.
Idiom: give one's ear.
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
hoorluister
يَسْتَمِعُيَسْتَمِعُ إِلَىيَسْتَمِع إلى النَّصيحَهيُصْغي
escoltar
poslouchatslyšetnaslouchat
lyttelytte tilhøre efter
aŭskulti
گوش دادن
kuunnellauskoa
slušatičutiposlušati
hallgatfigyel
dengar
fara aî ráîumhlusta
･･･を聞く聞く
...에 귀를 기울이다듣다
audioauscultoexaudio
klausytiklausytispaklausyti
klausītiesuzklausīt
asculta
počúvaťposlúchaťslyšaťnačúvaťpočuť
poslušatiubogati
čutiposlušatislušatiпослушатислушати
lyssnalyssna pålyda
ฟัง
dinlemekduymakdikkate almak
سنناکان لگانا
lắng nghenghe

listen

[ˈlɪsən] vi
(to sound) → écouter
listen! → écoutez!
Listen, I finish at one → Écoutez, je finis à une heure.
to listen closely → écouter attentivement
If you listen closely, you can hear the sea → Si vous écoutez attentivement, vous pouvez entendre la mer.
to listen to sb → écouter qn
Listen to me! → Écoutez-moi!
Listen to me when I'm talking to you! → Écoute-moi quand je te parle!
to listen to sth → écouter qch
Listen to this! → Écoutez ça!
He spent his time listening to the radio → Il passait son temps à écouter la radio.
(to request, advice) → écouter
I asked him to stop but he would not listen → Je lui ai demandé d'arrêter mais il n'a pas écouté.
to listen to sb (= heed) → écouter qn
Anne, you need to listen to me this time → Anne, vous devez m'écouter cette fois-ci.
listen for
vt fus → guetter
listen out for
vt fus → écouter
I didn't really listen out for the lyrics → Je n'ai pas vraiment écouté les paroles.
listen in on
vt fus [+ phone call] → écouter
They listened in on his phone calls → Ils écoutaient ses communications téléphoniques.
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

listen

vi
(= hear) → hören (→ to sth etw acc); to listen to the radio → Radio hören; if you listen hard, you can hear the sea → wenn du genau horchst or hinhörst, kannst du das Meer hören; she listened carefully to everything he said → sie hörte ihm genau zu; to listen for something → auf etw (acc) → horchen; the boys are listening for the bell at the end of the lesson → die Jungen warten auf das Klingeln am Ende der Stunde; we listened for footsteps approaching → wir horchten, ob sich Schritte näherten; to listen for somebody → horchen or hören, ob jd kommt
(= heed) → zuhören; listen to me! → hör mir zu!; listen, I know what we’ll do → pass auf, ich weiß, was wir machen; now listen here! → nun hör mir mal zu!; don’t listen to him → hör nicht auf ihn; if he suggests anything, don’t listen → hör nicht darauf, wenn er etwas vorschlägt; he wouldn’t listen → er wollte nicht hören
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

listen

[ˈlɪsn] vi → ascoltare
to listen to sb/sth → ascoltare qn/qc
listen! → ascolta!, senti!
he wouldn't listen to me → non mi ha voluto dar retta or ascolto
he wouldn't listen to reason → non ha voluto sentire ragione
listen (out) for the car → senti se arriva la macchina
listen (out) for your name → aspetta che ti chiamino
to listen in on a conversation → ascoltare di nascosto una conversazione
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

listen

(ˈlisn) verb
1. (often with to) to give attention so as to hear (what someone is saying etc). I told her three times, but she wasn't listening; Do listen to the music!escuchar
2. (with to) to follow the advice of. If she'd listened to me, she wouldn't have got into trouble.escuchar
listen in on
to listen intentionally to (a private conversation etc). escuchar a escondidas
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

listen

→ escuchar , prestar atención
Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009

listen

v. escuchar, atender, prestar atención.
English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012

listen

vi escuchar; I’m going to listen to your lungs..Voy a escucharle los pulmones.
English-Spanish/Spanish-English Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Mentioned in ?
References in classic literature ?
Lift me up and let me listen at the key-hole and I'll soon tell you."
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"Listen to th' wind wutherin' round the house," she said.
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Listen, dear, it's in the little box on the right of the mantelpiece: what does it say?
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Listen. In all times and ages have been women, great wise women.
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It was evident that he not only knew everyone in the drawing room, but had found them to be so tiresome that it wearied him to look at or listen to them.
View in context
"This must not be," I thought I heard him say: "either he must listen to reason, or I must have recourse to the last resource of civilization." Then, addressing me in a louder tone, he hurriedly exclaimed, "Listen: no stranger must witness what you have witnessed.
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Has there ever been a people who did not care to listen? I think not.
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An owl hooted not far off, and Laska, starting, stepped cautiously a few steps forward, and putting her head on one side, began to listen intently.
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It was plain that she did not dislike me, and equally plain that there was some obstacle connected with her father, which forbade her to listen to my offer of marriage.
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His deference to this particular branch of science had induced him to listen to the application of a medical man, whose thirst for natural history had led him to the desire of profiting by the migratory propensities of the squatter.
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"Listen, Conrart, this is the morality of Epicurus, whom, besides, I consider, if I must tell you so, as a myth.
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Granet listened for a few minutes and then said good-night a little abruptly.
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