The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Audition \Au*di"tion\, n. [L. auditio.]
   The act of hearing or listening; hearing.
   [1913 Webster]

         Audition may be active or passive; hence the difference
         between listening and simple hearing.    --Dunglison.
   [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

audition
    n 1: the ability to hear; the auditory faculty; "his hearing was
         impaired" [syn: hearing, audition, auditory sense,
         sense of hearing, auditory modality]
    2: a test of the suitability of a performer [syn: audition,
       tryout]
    v 1: perform in order to get a role; "She auditioned for a role
         on Broadway" [syn: audition, try out]