hear Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. verb perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
  2. verb get to know or become aware of, usually accidentally
    pick up; get a line; discover; see; learn; find out; get wind; get word.
    • I learned that she has two grown-up children
    • I see that you have been promoted
  3. verb examine or hear (evidence or a case) by judicial process
    try.
    • The jury had heard all the evidence
    • The case will be tried in California
  4. verb receive a communication from someone
    • We heard nothing from our son for five years
  5. verb listen and pay attention
    take heed; listen.
    • Listen to your father
    • We must hear the expert before we make a decision

WordNet

Hear transitive verb
Etymology
OE. heren, AS,. hiéran, hran, hran; akin to OS. hrian, OFries. hera, hora, D. hooren, OHG. hren, G. hören, Icel. heyra, Sw: höra, Dan. hore, Goth. hausjan, and perh. to Gr. , E. acoustic. Cf. Hark, Hearken.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Heard present participle & verbal noun Hearing
Definitions
  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. Shak.
    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. Shak.
  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 intransitive verb
Definitions
  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. Shak.
    I must hear from thee every day in the hour. Shak.
    ✍ 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 1913