listening

English

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /ˈlɪs.nɪŋ/, /ˈlɪs.ə.nɪŋ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Etymology 1

From Middle English listnynge, lustninde, from Old English hlysnende, equivalent to listen +‎ -ing.

Adjective

listening (not comparable)

1. Of something or someone that listens.

   Any listening person can tell she's lying.

2. Of something that is used in order to hear or to improve the ability to hear.

   He could hear better when he used his listening device.

3. Of an action that is performed with caution and attention to sounds.
   • 1912 January, Zane Grey, chapter 5, in Riders of the Purple Sage […], New York, N.Y., London: Harper & Brothers Publishers, →OCLC:

     The safest cover lay close under the wall of the cañon, and here through the dense thickets Venters made his slow, listening advance toward the oval.

Derived terms

• must-listening

Translations

of something that listens

• Finnish: kuunteleva (fi)

of something that is used in order to hear

• Finnish: kuulo- (fi)

of an action that is performed with caution and attention to sounds

• Finnish: varovainen (fi)

Verb

listening

1. present participle and gerund of listen
   • 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter X, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:

     It was a joy to snatch some brief respite, and find himself in the rectory drawing–room. Listening here was as pleasant as talking; just to watch was pleasant. The young priests who lived here wore cassocks and birettas; their faces were fine and mild, yet really strong, like the rector's face; and in their intercourse with him and his wife they seemed to be brothers.

Derived terms

• listening post
• listening station

Etymology 2

From Middle English listnynge, lustnynge, lystenynge, equivalent to listen +‎ -ing.

Noun

listening (plural listenings)

1. An act by which something or somebody is listened to.

   This symphony grows on me more and more with each listening.

   • 2010 May 3, Michael Senior, “CD Review: Massive Attack, "Heligoland"”, in The Oklahoman‎^[1], archived from the original on 2024-01-03:

     It is an album that rewards multiple listenings.

2. An educational exercise involving listening.

   OK, students, today we're going to do a couple of listenings about the environment, then a reading about crime.

3. Skill or ability of perceiving spoken language.

   You can improve your listening well by watching English-language films.

Derived terms

• active listening
• baby listening
• easy listening
• listening comprehension
• listening fatigue
• listening watch
• social listening

 

Translations

act by which something or somebody is listened to

• Finnish: kuuntelu (fi)
• French: écoute (fr) f
• German: Zuhören n
• Greek:

  Ancient: ἀκρόασις f (akróasis)

• Latin: auditus (la)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: lytting m or f

  Nynorsk: lytting f

• Russian: слу́шание (ru) n (slúšanije), прослу́шивание (ru) n (proslúšivanije)
• Ukrainian: слу́хання n (slúxannja), прослухо́вування n (prosluxóvuvannja)

ability of perceiving spoken language

• Dutch: luisteren (nl) n
• Finnish: kuullun ymmärtäminen
• Indonesian: kemampuan mendengar, kemampuan menyimak
• Russian: ауди́рование (ru) n (audírovanije)

Anagrams

• enlisting, tinseling