listen

/ˈlɪsən/

to pay attention to sound

She asked him to listen carefully to her explanation.

She wanted him to focus on understanding what she was saying.

general

to pay attention to sound; to hear something deliberately

The teacher told the students to listen to the instructions.

The teacher wanted the students to focus on what was being said.

He listened to the radio while driving.

He paid attention to the radio broadcast while driving.

Often used with prepositions like 'to' (listen to) or 'for' (listen for).

Collocations

listen toto pay attention to sound from a sourcelisten forto pay attention to a specific soundlisten upto pay attention immediately

to secretly hear a private conversation

to pay attention immediately

'Listen to' is the most common collocation, but 'listen for' is used when waiting for a specific sound.

Use 'listen to' for specific sounds or speakers, and 'listen' alone when the focus is on the act of hearing.

Old English 'lystan,' from Proto-Germanic 'lausijaną,' meaning 'to listen, heed.'

Can be used both transitively (with an object) and intransitively (without an object).

lis-

to hear

root

-ten

to hold or keep

suffix

English Dictionary