Link Centre Dictionary

listen

lis·ten

UK/ˈlɪsən/ US/ˈlɪsən] ~ [ˈlɪsn̩/ very common

verb

1.

hear with intention

  • “Listen to the sound of this cello”
2.

listen and pay attention

  • “Listen to your father”
  • “We must hear the expert before we make a decision”
Synonyms
3.

pay close attention to; give heed to

  • “Heed the advice of the old men”
Synonyms

Origin

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”).

Phrases

  • do a listen
  • listen after
  • listen in
  • listen out
  • listen to you
  • listen up
  • listening post
  • listening station

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

See also

Entails

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.