INDEX:
1. to listen to someone or something
2. to secretly listen to someone
3. what you say when telling someone to listen
4. to listen to the radio
5. someone who listens
RELATED WORDS
listen carefully and pay attention : ↑ ATTENTION
see also
↑ HEAR
↑ ATTENTION
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1. to listen to someone or something
▷ listen /ˈlɪs ə n/ [intransitive verb]
to pay attention to what someone is saying or to a sound that you hear :
▪ I didn’t hear the answer, because I wasn’t listening when she read it out.
▪ If you listened in class you might get better grades.
listen to
▪ He listened carefully to every word I said.
▪ I could listen to Placido Domingo all day -- he has such a beautiful voice!
listen hard
try hard to hear something that is very quiet
▪ If you listen hard, you can hear the sound of the sea in the distance.
listen carefully
▪ The company has begun to listen more carefully to its customers, in a determined attempt to improve customer service.
listen intently
listen very carefully to hear what someone is saying
▪ Mrs Singh leaned forward, listening intently as they explained the procedure to her.
▷ pay attention /peɪ əˈtenʃ ə n/ [verb phrase]
to listen carefully to what someone is saying :
▪ I have some important information about travel arrangements, so please pay attention.
▪ Billy’s a smart kid, but he doesn’t pay attention in class.
pay attention to
▪ She went on talking, but I wasn’t really paying attention to what she was saying.
▪ According to the survey, two-thirds of young people do not follow politics and pay no attention to election campaigns.
▷ listen for/listen out for /ˈlɪs ə n fɔːʳ, ˌlɪs ə n ˈaʊt fɔːʳ/ [transitive phrasal verb]
to listen carefully for a sound that you are expecting to hear, although you do not know when it will happen :
▪ We hid behind the door, listening for the sound of the guard’s footsteps.
▪ The flight had been delayed, and so I waited in the departure lounge listening for announcements.
▪ She lay in bed, listening out for the sound of his feet on the stairs.
▷ hear somebody out /ˌhɪəʳ somebody ˈaʊt/ [transitive phrasal verb]
to listen to all of what someone wants to tell you without interrupting them, especially when you disagree with them or do not believe them :
▪ Hear me out first, Jane, and then you can say what you think.
▪ Knapp heard him out patiently but still refused to change his mind.
2. to secretly listen to someone
▷ listen in /ˌlɪs ə n ˈɪn/ [intransitive phrasal verb]
to listen to someone else’s conversation when they do not know that you are listening, either on the telephone or when you are near them :
▪ Whenever her boss had one of his ‘private meetings’, she always used to listen in.
listen in on
▪ We tried to listen in on their conversation, but they were talking too quietly.
▪ They used to have hours of fun listening in on what people were doing in their hotel rooms.
▷ eavesdrop /ˈiːvzdrɒpǁ-drɑːp/ [intransitive verb]
to secretly listen to someone else’s conversation by standing near them, hiding behind a door etc :
▪ How did you know I was going? You’ve been eavesdropping, haven’t you!
eavesdrop on
▪ I caught him eavesdropping on our conversation.
▪ Sue was able to eavesdrop on them through the open window.
▷ bug /bʌg/ [transitive verb]
to hide a small piece of electronic recording equipment in someone’s room, car, office etc in order to listen secretly to what is said there :
▪ Security agents bugged their offices and managed to get some evidence against them.
▪ Wells was convinced the house was bugged and insisted on playing loud music while we talked.
▷ tap /tæp/ [transitive verb]
to connect a piece of electronic recording equipment to a telephone system so that you can listen to people’s telephone conversations :
▪ Later we realized our phones had been tapped and the police knew everything.
▪ The President had to resign over an illegal phone-tapping operation.
▷ monitor /ˈmɒnɪtəʳ, ˈmɒnətəʳǁˈmɑː-/ [transitive verb]
to listen to another country’s radio or television broadcasts or radio messages in order to get information about that country :
▪ Satellite technology means that enemy airwaves can be monitored more closely than ever before.
3. what you say when telling someone to listen
▷ listen /ˈlɪs ə n/ spoken
say this when you want someone to listen and pay attention to what you are saying :
▪ Listen! There’s someone coming upstairs!
▪ Listen, I’ve just had a really good idea.
▷ listen up /ˌlɪs ə n ˈʌp/ spoken
say this when you want someone, especially a group of people, to pay close attention to what you are saying, especially when you are giving them instructions :
▪ Okay, class. Listen up. Open your books at page 33.
▪ The directions are complicated so listen up.
4. to listen to the radio
▷ listen to /ˈlɪs ə n tuː/ [verb phrase]
to listen to a radio programme or a particular radio station :
▪ Lucy sat in her car, listening to the radio.
▪ I always listen to the news while I have my breakfast.
▪ What station are you listening to?
▷ tune in /ˌtjuːn ˈɪnǁˌtuːn-/ [intransitive phrasal verb]
to turn on your radio and listen to a particular programme, especially if you do this at the same time each week :
▪ Be sure to tune in next week at the same time for another exciting episode of ‘Death Ray’.
tune in to
▪ Tune in to the Breakfast Show tomorrow to win VIP tickets to the Lollapalooza festival on Long Island.
5. someone who listens
▷ listener /ˈlɪs ə nəʳ/ [countable noun]
someone who is listening to a speech, piece of music etc, or who regularly listens to a particular radio programme or station :
▪ He paused momentarily to check that his listeners had fully appreciated the humour of his remark.
▪ The programme already has more than two million listeners across the country.
▷ audience /ˈɔːdiənsǁˈɔː-, ˈɑː-/ [countable noun with singular or plural verb in British English]
a group of people who watch and listen to someone speaking or performing in public, or who listen to a radio or television programme or station :
▪ The second comedian really made the audience laugh.
▪ The audience consisted mainly of young girls under sixteen.
▪ WMLD’s audience is mainly young and black.
▪ These two programs are both news and current affairs, but they cater for very different audiences.
▷ be a good listener /biː ə ˌgʊd ˈlɪs ə nəʳ/ [verb phrase]
if someone is a good listener, they always listen carefully and sympathetically when someone else is talking :
▪ Cara’s a really good listener, so she always has someone telling her their problems.