Hear out means to listen to someone until they've finished, without interrupting: hear somebody out. It's most often heard as a request, Hear me out, meaning “let me finish”. People say it when they expect objections and want the listener to hear the whole idea first.
Want to use hear out in conversation?
Write a sentence — we'll show the mistakes right away and suggest how to say it more naturally.
The check is taking longer than usual. Your feedback will appear here automatically.
hear somebody out; hear me out; hear out + noun (hear out both sides)
- I know you don't like the plan, but please hear me out before you decide.
- The manager heard out both sides and only then made a decision.
- She was annoyed at first, but she heard me out and finally agreed.
What changed
First versionPlease hear out me before you say no.
RevisionPlease hear me out before you say no.
The pronoun goes between hear and out: hear me out, hear him out. Putting it at the end, hear out me, is a common mistake. With a noun, out can come first: hear out both sides.
Listen to me simply asks for attention right now. Hear me out asks for more: listen to the end, even if you want to argue. That's why people say it before an unpopular idea: Hear me out: what if we cancel the trip?
Your turn
My parents didn't like my plan to study abroad, but at least they ___ before saying no.
Show the answer
heard me out — The word order has to be heard me out, with the pronoun between heard and out. Heard out me puts the pronoun in the wrong place, and English doesn't allow that.
Describe a conversation in which you asked someone to hear you out. Say who you were talking to and what your idea was.
I asked my boss to hear me out about working from home on Fridays, and she finally agreed.
Learn to use new words without mistakes
Write phrases with the words you are learning. LetsWords shows mistakes in usage and grammar, suggests corrections and explains them, and review helps the words stick.