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Webster 1913 Edition


Hear

Hear

(hēr)
,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Heard
(hẽrd)
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Hearing
.]
[OE.
heren
, AS,.
hiéran
,
hȳran
,
hēran
; akin to OS.
hōrian
, OFries.
hera
,
hora
, D.
hooren
, OHG.
hōren
, G.
hören
, Icel.
heyra
, Sw.
höra
, Dan.
hore
, Goth.
hausjan
, and perh. to Gr.
ἀκούειν
, E.
acoustic
. Cf.
Hark
,
Hearken
.]
1.
To perceive by the ear; to apprehend or take cognizance of by the ear;
as, to
hear
sounds; to
hear
a voice; to
hear
one call.
Lay thine ear close to the ground, and list if thou canst
hear
the tread of travelers.
Shakespeare
He had been
heard
to utter an ominous growl.
Macaulay.
2.
To give audience or attention to; to listen to; to heed; to accept the doctrines or advice of; to obey; to examine; to try in a judicial court;
as, to
hear
a recitation; to
hear
a class; the case will be
heard
to-morrow.
3.
To attend, or be present at, as hearer or worshiper;
as, to
hear
a concert; to
hear
Mass.
4.
To give attention to as a teacher or judge.
Thy matters are good and right, but there is no man deputed of the king to
hear
thee.
2 Sam. xv. 3.
I beseech your honor to
hear
me one single word.
Shakespeare
5.
To accede to the demand or wishes of; to listen to and answer favorably; to favor.
I love the Lord, because he hath
heard
my voice.
Ps. cxvi. 1.
They think that they shall be
heard
for their much speaking.
Matt. vi. 7.
Hear him
.
See Remark, under
Hear
,
Verb.
I.
To hear a bird sing
,
to receive private communication.
[Colloq.]
Shak.
To hear say
,
to hear one say; to learn by common report; to receive by rumor.
[Colloq.]

Hear

,
Verb.
I.
1.
To have the sense or faculty of perceiving sound.
“The hearing ear.”
Prov. xx. 12.
2.
To use the power of perceiving sound; to perceive or apprehend by the ear; to attend; to listen.
So spake our mother Eve, and Adam
heard
,
Well pleased, but answered not.
Milton.
3.
To be informed by oral communication; to be told; to receive information by report or by letter.
I have
heard
, sir, of such a man.
Shakespeare
I must
hear
from thee every day in the hour.
Shakespeare
To hear ill
,
to be blamed.
[Obs.]


Not only within his own camp, but also now at Rome, he
heard ill
for his temporizing and slow proceedings.
Holland.


To hear well
,
to be praised.
[Obs.]
Hear, or Hear him, is often used in the imperative, especially in the course of a speech in English assemblies, to call attention to the words of the speaker.
Hear him
, . . . a cry indicative, according to the tone, of admiration, acquiescence, indignation, or derision.
Macaulay.

Webster 1828 Edition


Hear

HEAR

,
Verb.
T.
pret. and pp. heard, but more correctly heared.
[L. audio; auris.]
1.
To perceive by the ear; to feel an impression of sound by the proper organs; as, to hear sound; to hear a voice; to hear words.
2.
To give audience or allowance to speak.
He sent for Paul, and heard him concerning the faith in Christ. Acts.24.
3.
To attend; to listen; to obey.
Today, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your heart. Ps.95.
4.
To attend favorably; to regard.
They think they shall be heard for their much speaking. Matt.6.
5.
To grant an answer to prayer.
I love the Lord, because he hath heard my voice. Ps.116.
6.
To attend to the facts, evidence, and arguments in a cause between parties; to try in a court of law or equity. The cause was heard and determined at the last term; or, it was heard at the last term, and will be determined at the next. So 2.Sam.15.
7.
To acknowledge a title; a Latin phrase.
Hear'st thou submissive, but a lowly birth.
8.
To be a hearer of; to sit under the preaching of; as, what minister do you hear? [A colloquial use of the word.]
9.
To learn.
I speak to the world those things which I have heard of him. John 8.
10. To approve and embrace.
They speak of the world, and the world heareth them. l John 4.
To hear a bird sing, to receive private communication.

HEAR

,
Verb.
I.
To enjoy the sense or faculty of perceiving sound. He is deaf, he cannot hear.
1.
To listen; to hearken; to attend.
He hears with solicitude.
2.
To be told; to receive by report.
I hear there are divisions among you, and I partly believe it. 1 Cor.11.

Definition 2024


hear

hear

English

Alternative forms

Verb

hear (third-person singular simple present hears, present participle hearing, simple past and past participle heard)

  1. (intransitive) To perceive sounds through the ear. [from 10th c.]
    I was deaf, and now I can hear.
  2. (transitive) To perceive (a sound, or something producing a sound) with the ear, to recognize (something) in an auditory way. [from 10th c.]
    I heard a sound from outside the window.
    • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 4, in The Celebrity:
      Mr. Cooke at once began a tirade against the residents of Asquith for permitting a sandy and generally disgraceful condition of the roads. So roundly did he vituperate the inn management in particular, and with such a loud flow of words, that I trembled lest he should be heard on the veranda.
  3. (transitive) To exercise this faculty intentionally; to listen to. [from 10th c.]
    • 1526, William Tyndale, trans. Bible, John X:
      Agayne there was dissencion amonge the iewes for these sayinges, and many of them sayd: He hath the devyll, and is madde: why heare ye hym?
    • 1935, George Goodchild, chapter 3, in Death on the Centre Court:
      It had been his intention to go to Wimbledon, but as he himself said: “Why be blooming well frizzled when you can hear all the results over the wireless. And results are all that concern me. []”
  4. (transitive) To listen favourably to; to grant (a request etc.). [from 10th c.]
    Eventually the king chose to hear her entreaties.
  5. (transitive) To receive information about; to come to learn of. [from 10th c.]
    • 1667, John Milton, Paradise Lost:
      Adam, soon as he heard / The fatal Trespass don by Eve, amaz'd, / Astonied stood and Blank [...].
  6. (transitive) To listen to (a person, case) in a court of law; to try. [from 12th c.]
    Your case will be heard at the end of the month.
  7. (transitive, informal) To sympathize with; to share the feeling or opinion of.
    You're tired of all the ads on TV? I hear ya.

Derived terms

Translations

See also

References

  • hear in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
  • hear in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: state · says · wife · #309: hear · least · person · case

Anagrams