behear

B3E1H4E1A1R1

verb

To give ear to; hear (intently); attend (to); pay attention or give heed to; listen to.

Scrabble 11

Meanings

verbbehear (third-person singular simple present behears, present participle behearing, simple past and past participle beheard)

present singular third person behears · participle present behearing · participle past beheard · past beheard

  1. datedtransitiveTo give ear to; hear (intently); attend (to); pay attention or give heed to; listen to.

    "Did you do it yoursel', Grizel ? God behears, she did it hersel!"

    1896, Edward Livermore Burlingame, Robert Bridges, Alfred Dashiell, Scribner's magazine, Volume 20
    5 more examples

    All that beheard three witty young men, 'Twas Robin Hood, Scarlet, and John, […]

    1826, Robin Hood, (Please provide the book title or journal name)

    In some incidental way he beheard him of the poor widow's difficulty, and at once the manhood in him asserted itself.

    1877, The Sunday magazine

    "The good Lord behear!" he exclaimed, stood stock-still for a moment, and waddled off at top speed towards the back door. "We must tell Aunt at once! […]"

    1897, Robert Louis Stevenson, Lloyd Osbourne, Fanny Van de Grift Stevenson, The novels and tales of Robert Louis Stevenson

    All that beheard his little footepage, As he watered his masters steed […]

    1901, A Book of romantic ballads

    Or behear ye the sheep, to the husbanding rams how they bleat to the shade! Or behear ye the birds, at the Goddess' command how they sing unafraid!

    1911, Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch, Brother Copas

Synonyms & antonyms

Origin

From be- (“at, about”) + hear. Cognate with Scots behere, behear (“to hear, hear our cry”), West Frisian beheare (“to administer; manage”), Dutch behoren (“to belong”).

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

behear. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/behear

MLA

“behear.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/behear. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “behear,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/behear.

Source: behear on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.