inner ear


Origin of inner ear

1
First recorded in 1920–25

Words Nearby inner ear

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use inner ear in a sentence

  • They haven't got the sensitized inner ear of the quiet time that would lead them up into higher, broader service.

  • The tiniest defect in the mechanism of the inner ear may cost the airman his life, if he undertakes night flying.

    The Romance of Aircraft | Lawrence Yard Smith
  • A little tube called the Eustachian tube connects the inner ear with the mouth cavity.

    A Civic Biology | George William Hunter
  • The first part to appear is a portion of the inner ear, which shows itself as a round, hollowing of the ectoderm.

    Embryology | Gerald R. Leighton
  • A quiet place shuts out the outer sounds, and gives the inner ear a chance to learn other sounds.

    Quiet Talks on Prayer | S. D. (Samuel Dickey) Gordon

British Dictionary definitions for inner ear

inner ear

noun
  1. another name for internal ear, labyrinth

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for inner ear

inner ear

[ ĭnər ]


  1. The innermost part of the ear in many vertebrate animals, consisting of the cochlea, the semicircular canals, and the vestibule. Sound vibrations are transmitted from the cochlea of the inner ear to the brain by the auditory nerve. The semicircular canals and the vestibule are the body's organs of balance. See more at ear1.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Cultural definitions for inner ear

inner ear

The part of the ear, located deep within the skull, where sound vibrations are converted to electrical signals and sent to the brain via the auditory nerve to produce the sensation of hearing. Organs related to balance are also located in the inner ear.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.