What does hear mean?
Hear is a common English verb used when the ear receives a sound or when a person learns something through speech or another form of communication. It can refer to directly perceiving a noise, as in hearing music, and to being told information, as in hearing a rumor. The verb also describes attentive listening, particularly in expressions such as hearing a witness or hearing a legal case. Unlike listen, which focuses on the deliberate activity of attending to sound, hear often focuses on the result: one may hear music without listening to it deliberately. In everyday use, hear can imply that information has reached the speaker's awareness, whether or not it was fully understood. The word is standard in British and American English and is especially useful for connecting perception, communication, and inquiry. Its related forms include heard, hearing, hearsay, and hearer, while the older form hearken preserves a more formal sense of listening or paying attention.
verbTo perceive sound with the ear, or to become aware of something through what someone tells you. It can also mean to listen to or attend a person, statement, or legal case.
- To perceive sound with the ear.
- To be told or informed of something.
- To listen attentively to a person or statement.
- To attend and consider a legal case or proceeding.
"She heard the storm outside and closed the windows."
"Did you hear what she said?"
"The judge will hear the case on Monday."
"I haven't heard from my brother since last week."
The word hear carries the extraordinary idea that the world becomes intelligible through the ear, and it comes from the same Germanic family as German hören and Dutch horen.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does hear come from?
The modern English verb hear descends from the Old English hīeran, which already meant to perceive sound and to learn or be told something. It belongs to a Germanic word family that includes Old Norse heyra and modern German hören. English later developed several related forms, including hearing, hearsay, and hearken, with hearken retaining a more formal or archaic sense of listening attentively.
Related word forms
How hear is actually used
Hear usually describes the result of perceiving sound, whereas listen emphasizes the activity of paying attention. The phrase hear from someone commonly means to receive communication from that person. In legal contexts, hear a case means to consider it.
Easily confused with hear
Hear is a verb meaning to perceive sound or receive information, whereas here indicates a place and is pronounced the same in most English varieties.