• lisen(obsolete)
• lis'en(eye dialect, rare)
• lissen(eye dialect, rare)

FromMiddle Englishlistenen,listnen, alteration (due toMiddle Englishlisten(“to listen, give heed to”)) ofOld Englishhlysnan(“to listen”), fromProto-Germanic*hlusnijaną,*hlusnōną (compareMiddle High Germanlüsenen), fromProto-Germanic*hlusēną (compareOld High Germanhlosēn), fromProto-Indo-European*ḱlew-(“to hear”).

Cognate withSwedishlyssna(“to listen”).

CompareAncient Greekκλαίω(klaíō,“I make known, famous”),Welshclywed(“to hear”),Latinclueō(“I am famous”),Lithuanianklausýti,Old Church Slavonicслушати(slušati,“to hear”),Sanskritश्रोषति(śróṣati,“an exclamation used in making an offering with fire to the gods or departed spirits”) &Sanskritश्लोक्य(ślókya,“voice, sound, noisy”)).

Related toloud andGermanlauschen.

• enPR:lĭs'ən,lĭs'n,IPA^(key):/ˈlɪs.ən/,[ˈlɪs.n̩]

• Audio(UK):

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• Audio(US):

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• Audio(General Australian):

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• Hyphenation:lis‧ten
• Rhymes:-ɪsən

listen (third-person singular simple presentlistens,present participlelistening,simple past and past participlelistened)

1. (intransitive except in archaic usage) Touse one's sense ofhearing in anintentional way; to make deliberate use of one'sears; topay attention to orwait for a specific sound.

   Synonyms:heed,mind,note,pay attention,attend

   Antonym:ignore

   Pleaselisten carefully as I explain.

   I could hear you talking upstairs, but I didn’t reallylisten to your conversation.

   • 1906,Stanley J[ohn] Weyman, chapter I, inChippinge Borough, New York, N.Y.: McClure, Phillips & Co.,→OCLC,page01:

     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, inRiders of the Purple Sage […], New York, N.Y., London:Harper & Brothers Publishers,→OCLC:

     He reined Wrangle to a walk, halted now and then tolisten, and then proceeded cautiously with shifting and alert gaze.

   • 1921,Ben Travers, chapter 1, inA Cuckoo in the Nest, Garden City, N.Y.:Doubleday, Page & Company, published1925,→OCLC:

     He read the letter aloud. Sophialistened with the studied air of one for whom, even in these days, a title possessed some surreptitious allurement.

     (transitive,archaic)

     • 1485, SirThomas Malory,Le Morte d'Arthur, Book XX:

       'But, sir, lyars ye havelystened, and that hath caused grete debate betwyxte you and me.'

     • 1591 (date written),William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Sixt”, inMr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London:[…]Isaac Iaggard, andEd[ward] Blount, published1623,→OCLC,[Act V, scene iii]:

       Lady, vouchsafeto listen what I say.

     • a.1749 (date written),James Thomson, “Summer”, inThe Seasons, London:[…]A[ndrew] Millar, and sold byThomas Cadell, […], published1768,→OCLC:

       Here laid his Scrip, with wholesome Viands fill'd, / There,listening every Noise, his watchful Dog.

     [withto]

     I like tolisten to music.

     • 2007,KT Tunstall, “Saving My Face”, inDrastic Fantastic‎^[1]:

       I'mlistening to what you say / Even though I look the other way / But you could never understand / The feeling of what I'm needing

     [withfor]

     You shouldlisten for the starting gun.

2. (intransitive) Toacceptadvice orobey instruction; toagree orassent.

   Synonym:mind

   Antonym:disregard

   Listen, the only reason I yelled at you was because I was upset, OK?

   Good childrenlisten to their parents.

   • 1943 November –1944 February (date written; published1945 August 17),George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair],Animal Farm […], London:Secker & Warburg, publishedMay 1962,→OCLC:

     Neverlisten when they tell you that Man and the animals have a common interest […].

• In English,listen andhear are two primary verbs relating to audial perception. Tohear most commonly representsautomatic,unconscious, orpassive perception of sound, whilelisten generally representsintentional,conscious, orpurposeful 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 beenhearing, though notlistening 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 betweensee andwatch in English.

• For quotations using this term, seeCitations:listen.

• See alsoThesaurus:listen

• speak
• talk

listen (plurallistens)

1. An instance of listening.

   Synonym:(of recorded audio)play

   Give the motor alisten 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”, inTime‎^[2]:

     The diss song, “Back to Back,” now has more than 124 millionlistens, a sign that the streaming can attract a sizable audience for a single track.

   • 2020,Emily Segal,Mercury Retrograde, New York: Deluge Books,→ISBN:

     I hadn't spoken to her in a year, but she could still see mylistens on the music platform we both used.

• hear

• ELINTs,SILENT,Teslin,enlist,inlets,leints,lets in,silent,tinsel

Fromlist +‎-en.

• IPA^(key):[ˈlɪstɛn]

listen m inan

1. (botany)bract

This noun needs aninflection-table template.

• “listen”, inPříruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech),1935–1957
• “listen”, inSlovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech),1960–1971, 1989
• “listen”, inInternetová jazyková příručka (in Czech),2008–2025

listen c

1. definitesingular ofliste
2. definitesingular oflist

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listen

1. plural oflist

• instel,sintel,stel in

FromListe +‎-en.

• IPA^(key):[ˈlɪstn̩]

• Audio:

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• Hyphenation:lis‧ten
• Homophone:Listen

listen (weak,third-person singular presentlistet,past tenselistete,past participlegelistet,auxiliaryhaben)

1. tolist

   Synonym:auflisten

• auflisten

• Liste f

• “listen (eintragen, vorrätig haben)” inDuden online
• “listen (schmuggeln, tricksen)” inDuden online
• “listen” inDigitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “listen” in Uni Leipzig:Wortschatz-Lexikon
• “listen” inOpenThesaurus.de

• lista

listen m orf

1. definitemasculinesingular ofliste
2. definitemasculinesingular oflist

listen

1. inflection oflistar:
   1. third-personpluralpresentsubjunctive
   2. third-personpluralimperative

listen

1. definitesingular oflist

• linets,litens,sliten,stilen