hearer

/ˈhɪəɹə/

//ˈhɪəɹə// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"hearer" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“hearer” is uncommon English (frequency #85,334 among 2,646 “H” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#85,334
frequency rank, English
2,646
“H” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - One who hears.

Corpus desk

Index EN-hearer · hearer · English

hearer · rank #85,334 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #85,334
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,646
  • PHOTO-FINISH healings

Nearest frequency peer: healings (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “hearer”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “hearer” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for hearer
PropertyValue
Headwordhearer
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈhɪəɹə/
Letters6
Frequency rank#85,334
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “hearer” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).hearerfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “healings” (#85,333), “Heimdall” (#85,337), “havering” (#85,330). Among 2,646 “H” headwords, “hearer” is #85,334. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

hearer is uncommon English at frequency #85,334 among 2,646 “H” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈhɪəɹə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Zero misspellings are on record for hearer in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English heerar, herere, hyerere, equivalent to hear + -er. The correct English form is hearer, spelled H-E-A-R-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    One who hears.
  2. 2
    A person who regularly attends sermons; a devout listener.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how hearer appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Defaultism The defaultist view is that some conversational implicatures are default inferences—presumptive meanings—that the hearer makes unless given reason not to by the speaker.
  2. Whilst Mr. Taale was priest in Osteröe, it happened that one of his hearers was carried away and returned again.

Etymology

From Middle English heerar, herere, hyerere, equivalent to hear + -er.

This word in other languages

oyente(Español)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "hearer"?
"hearer" is spelled H-E-A-R-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈhɪəɹə/.
What does "hearer" mean?
As a noun, "hearer" means: One who hears.
How do you pronounce "hearer"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "hearer" is /ˈhɪəɹə/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "hearer"?
From Middle English heerar, herere, hyerere, equivalent to hear + -er. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "hearer", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Hendra#85,340hangry#85,322Halima#85,320huevos#85,351

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list