Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

listen up

Word Rarity Common

Frequency: Zipf frequency 5.04 in modern English

Syllables
lis-ten up
IPA
10
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
2
Syllables
8
Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To listen closely; to pay attention.

Informal

Example Sentences

Etymology

From listen + up. First use appears c. 1933, although the exact date of its first use is uncertain. See cite below.

Usage

Inflected Forms

listens up (present, singular) listening up (participle, present) listened up (participle, past) listened up (past)

Synonyms

give ear lend an ear hear ye

Questions

What does listen up mean?
To listen closely; to pay attention.
Where does listen up come from?
From listen + up. First use appears c. 1933, although the exact date of its first use is uncertain. See cite below.

How to pronounce listen up

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “listen up”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “listen up”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “listen up” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.