listen Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. verb hear with intention
    • Listen to the sound of this cello
  2. verb listen and pay attention
    take heed; hear.
    • Listen to your father
    • We must hear the expert before we make a decision
  3. verb pay close attention to; give heed to
    mind; heed.
    • Heed the advice of the old men

WordNet

Lis"ten intransitive verb
Etymology
OE. listnen, listen, lustnen, lusten, AS. hlystan; akin to hlyst hearing, OS. hlust, Icel. hlusta to listen, hlust ear, AS. hlosnian to wait in suspense, OHG. hlosen to listen, Gr. , and E. loud. See Loud, and cf. List to listen.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Listened ; present participle & verbal noun Listening
Definitions
  1. To give close attention with the purpose of hearing; to give ear; to hearken; to attend.
    When we have occasion to listen, and give a more particular attention to same sound, the tympanum is drawn to a more than ordinary tension. Holder.
  2. To give heed; to yield to advice; to follow admonition; to obey.
    Listen to me, and by me be ruled. Tennyson.
    Soldiers note forts, armories, and magazines; scholars listen after libraries, disputations, and professors. Fuller.
    Syn. -- To attend; hearken. See Attend.
Lis"ten transitive verb
Definitions
  1. To attend to. Obs. Shak.

Webster 1913