LISTENING

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does listening mean? 

• LISTENING (noun)
  The noun LISTENING has 1 sense:

1. the act of hearing attentively

  Familiarity information: LISTENING used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• LISTENING (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The act of hearing attentively

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

hearing; listening

Context example:

they make good music--you should give them a hearing

Hypernyms ("listening" is a kind of...):

perception; sensing (becoming aware of something via the senses)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "listening"):

auscultation (listening to sounds within the body (usually with a stethoscope))

rehearing; relistening (the act of hearing again)

Derivation:

listen (hear with intention)

listen (listen and pay attention)

listen (pay close attention to; give heed to)

 Context examples 

She had changed her position; and, with her eyes fixed intently on one of the windows, was listening to her uncle in the utmost perturbation and dismay.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

Neural activity changes when a person is listening to spoken language — but the brain also locks onto random, meaningless bursts of sound in a very similar way and at a similar frequency.

(The Rhythms of Sign Language, NSF)

"I wish I'd known that nice girl. Maybe she would have helped me, I'm so stupid," said Beth, who stood beside him, listening eagerly.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

They stood still listening, and Tom said, “Take me with you, and I’ll soon show you how to get the parson’s money.” “But where are you?” said they.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

I am anxious, and it soothes me to express myself here; it is like whispering to one's self and listening at the same time.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

Listening to each other and working to resolve conflicts are important in strengthening the family.

(Family Issues, NIH)

I passed whole days on the lake alone in a little boat, watching the clouds and listening to the rippling of the waves, silent and listless.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

In a short time he was standing close to me and listening with deep distress to the story which I told him.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The universe is listening to the whispers of your heart, dear Pisces.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

"Elles changent de toilettes," said Adele; who, listening attentively, had followed every movement; and she sighed.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)