ear

¹

[ eer ]

noun

1. the organ of hearing and equilibrium in vertebrates, in humans consisting of an external ear that gathers sound vibrations, a middle ear in which the vibrations resonate against the tympanic membrane, and a fluid-filled internal ear that maintains balance and that conducts the tympanic vibrations to the auditory nerve, which transmits them as impulses to the brain.
2. the external ear alone:

   The hat completely covers his ears.

3. the sense of hearing:

   sounds that are pleasing to the ear.

4. keen or sensitive perception of the differences of sound, especially sensitiveness to the quality and correctness of musical sounds:

   an ear for music; a violinist with a good ear.

5. attention; heed:

   to gain a person's ear.

6. any part that resembles or suggests an ear in position or form, as the handle of a teacup.
7. Architecture. crossette.
8. Journalism. a small box in either upper corner of a newspaper page, usually the front page or split page, containing the name of or a symbol for the edition, a weather bulletin, a slogan, or the like.
9. Furniture.
   1. a decorative feature at the upper end of a leg.
   2. one of the decorative features at each end of a crest rail.
10. ears, Slang. earphones.
11. ear tuft.

ear

²

[ eer ]

noun

1. the part of a cereal plant, as corn, wheat, etc., that contains the flowers and hence the fruit, grains, or kernels.

verb (used without object)

1. to form or put forth ears.

ear

³

[ eer ]

verb (used with object)

, British Dialect.

1. to plow; cultivate.

ear

¹

/ ɪə /

noun

1. the part of a cereal plant, such as wheat or barley, that contains the seeds, grains, or kernels

verb

1. intr (of cereal plants) to develop such parts

ear

²

/ ɪə /

noun

1. the organ of hearing and balance in higher vertebrates and of balance only in fishes. In man and other mammals it consists of three parts See external ear middle ear internal ear auralotic
2. the outermost cartilaginous part of the ear (pinna) in mammals, esp man
3. the sense of hearing
4. sensitivity to musical sounds, poetic diction, etc

   he has an ear for music

5. attention, esp favourable attention; consideration; heed (esp in the phrases give ear to, lend an ear )
6. an object resembling the external ear in shape or position, such as a handle on a jug
7. Also called (esp Brit)earpiece a display box at the head of a newspaper page, esp the front page, for advertisements, etc
8. all ears
   very attentive; listening carefully
9. by ear
   without reading from written music
10. chew someone's ear slang.
    to reprimand severely
11. fall on deaf ears
    to be ignored or pass unnoticed
12. have hard ears
    to be stubbornly disobedient
13. a flea in one's ear informal.
    a sharp rebuke
14. have the ear of
    to be in a position to influence

    he has the ear of the president

15. in one ear and out the other
    heard but unheeded
16. keep one's ear to the ground or have one's ear to the ground
    to be or try to be well informed about current trends and opinions
17. make a pig's ear of informal.
    to ruin disastrously
18. one's ears are burning
    one is aware of being the topic of another's conversation
19. out on one's ear informal.
    dismissed unceremoniously
20. play by ear
    1. to act according to the demands of a situation rather than to a plan; improvise
    2. to perform a musical piece on an instrument without written music
21. prick up one's ears
    to start to listen attentively; become interested
22. set by the ears
    to cause disagreement or commotion
23. a thick ear informal.
    a blow on the ear delivered as punishment, in anger, etc
24. turn a deaf ear
    to be deliberately unresponsive
25. up to one's ears informal.
    deeply involved, as in work or debt
26. wet behind the ears informal.
    inexperienced; naive; immature

ear

¹

/ îr /

1. The seed-bearing spike of a cereal plant, such as corn or wheat.

ear

²

/ îr /

1. The vertebrate organ of hearing, which in mammals is usually composed of three parts: the outer ear, middle ear, and inner ear. The organs of balance are also located in the ear.
2. An invertebrate organ analogous to the vertebrate ear.

ear

1. The organ of hearing, which also plays a role in maintaining balance. It is divided into the outer ear (from the outside to the eardrum ), the middle ear , and the inner ear .

Derived Forms

• ˈearless, adjective
• ˈearˌlike, adjective

Other Words From

• ear·less adjective
• ear·like adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of ear¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English ere, yere, yare, Old English ēare; cognate with Old Norse eyra, German Ohr, Gothic auso, Latin auris (from unrecorded ausis ), Lithuanian ausìs, Old Irish āu (from unrecorded əusos-), Greek oûs

Origin of ear²

First recorded before 900; Middle English ere, er, Old English ēar, æhher, eher; cognate with German Ahre, Old Norse ax (from unrecorded ahiz ), Gothic ahs (from unrecorded ahsis), Latin acus “husk”

Origin of ear³

First recorded before 900; Middle English eren, erien, Old English erian, erigan, erigean; cognate with Old Norse erja, Gothic arjan, Latin arāre, Lithuanian árti, Greek aroûn, all meaning “to plow”

Word History and Origins

Origin of ear¹

Old English ēar; related to Old High German ahar, Old Norse ax, Gothic ahs ear, Latin acus chaff, Greek akros pointed

Origin of ear²

Old English ēare; related to Old Norse eyra, Old High German ōra, Gothic ausō, Greek ous, Latin auris

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. be all ears, Informal. to give all one's attention; listen:

   We were all ears as the scandal was revealed.

2. bend an ear, to listen attentively:

   to bend an ear to a request for aid.

3. bend someone's ear, Informal. to talk to someone uninterruptedly and often so as to induce boredom:

   He'll bend your ear for hours if given the chance.

4. by ear, without reference to written or printed music:

   to play the piano by ear.

5. fall on deaf ears, to be disregarded; pass unheeded:

   Their pleas for mercy fell on deaf ears.

6. give ear, to pay attention; listen carefully. Also lend an ear.
7. go in one ear and out the other, to be heard but ignored; be put out of mind:

   My repeated warnings to her went in one ear and out the other.

8. have one's ears on, Slang. to be listening to a CB radio, police radio, walkie-talkie, etc.
9. have / keep one's ear to the ground, to keep well-informed about current trends; be shrewd or astute:

   Because she had her ear to the ground, she made a large fortune in stock speculation.

10. pin someone's ears back, Slang. to give a person a sound beating; defeat a person utterly:

    If he doesn't behave himself, I'll pin his ears back.

11. set by the ears, to cause to dispute or quarrel:

    He's a troublemaker who keeps trying to set the two other children by the ears.

12. set on one's ear / ears, to excite or stir up; shock; amaze:

    The presence of the movie star set the whole town on its ear.

13. turn a deaf ear to, to refuse to listen to or consider (a request, petition, etc.):

    He turns a deaf ear to requests for loans.

14. up to one's ears, deeply involved or occupied to full capacity:

    We are up to our ears in work.

15. wet behind the ears. wet ( def 19 ).

More idioms and phrases containing ear

• all ears
• believe one's ears
• bend someone's ear
• can't make a silk purse out of sow's ear
• coming out of one's ears
• cute as a button (bug's ear)
• fall on deaf ears
• flea in one's ear
• have someone's ear
• in one ear and out the other
• lend one's ear
• music to one's ears
• out on one's ear
• pin someone's ears back
• play by ear
• prick up one's ears
• put a bug in someone's ear
• turn a deaf ear
• up to one's ears
• walls have ears
• wet behind the ears

Example Sentences

Mushie, who the couple rescued from a breeder, is a spayed black brindle French bulldog with a white chest, perky ears and no tail.

From Los Angeles Times

“Every time Chad loses his shirt, have a sip of wine, beer or eat a cookie,” he laughs over Zoom, as one hand brushes his golden strands behind his ear.

From Los Angeles Times

He's right about this, but his words will fall on deaf ears.

From Salon

These stories also tend to be rehashed and retread because fame breeds fascination, of course, and name recognition helps when seeking the eyes and ears of an audience.

From New York Times

"There's only so many times you can turn a deaf ear to being called murdering scum," smiles former fox hunt master, Byron John.

From BBC

Related Words

• mind
• taste