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REFERENCE

listener

n.
US //ˈɫɪsənɝ// UK //lˈɪsənɐ// lis·ten·er
  1. 1 person who listens (n.)
    A2 Elementary

    someone who hears a speech, a radio show, or music.

    an individual who perceives and attends to audio input, such as a broadcast, lecture, or musical performance.

    Example

    The radio station has over a million listeners every morning.

    Example

    The lecturer paused frequently to ensure that every listener in the hall could follow the complex argument being presented.

  2. 2 a supportive person (n.)
    B1 Intermediate

    someone who pays attention to what you say and tries to understand your feelings.

    a person who provides empathetic attention to a speaker, often in a therapeutic or supportive context.

    Example

    She is a very good listener, so I always talk to her when I have a problem.

    Example

    Effective leadership requires being an active listener who values the perspectives of every team member before making a final decision.

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  1. 3 event handler (n.)
    C1 Advanced Technical Computing

    a piece of computer code that waits for a specific action, like a mouse click, to happen.

    a function or procedure that waits for a specific event to occur, such as a user interaction or a system state change, and executes a response.

    Example

    The programmer added a listener to the button so the page would save when clicked.

    Example

    The application performance degraded because too many event listeners were attached to the scroll container, causing significant lag during user interaction.

    Usage

    Often used in the phrase 'event listener'.

  2. 4 the ear (n.)
    C2 Proficiency Slang Informal

    a casual or funny word for a person's ear.

    a metonymic reference to the organ of hearing.

    Example

    Keep your listeners open for any news about the new job.

    Example

    He leaned in close, cupping a hand behind his listener to catch the faint whisper in the crowded room.

Origin

From listen + -er.

Idioms1 entry

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