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.
the external ear alone: The hat completely covers his ears.
the sense of hearing: sounds that are pleasing to the ear.
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.
attention; heed: to gain a person's ear.
any part that resembles or suggests an ear in position or form, as the handle of a teacup.
Architecture. crossette.
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.
Furniture.
a decorative feature at the upper end of a leg.
one of the decorative features at each end of a crest rail.
ears,Slang. earphones.
ear tuft.
Idioms for ear
be all ears, Informal. to give all one's attention; listen: We were all ears as the scandal was revealed.
bend an ear, to listen attentively: to bend an ear to a request for aid.
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.
by ear, without reference to written or printed music: to play the piano by ear.
fall on deaf ears, to be disregarded; pass unheeded: Their pleas for mercy fell on deaf ears.
give ear, to pay attention; listen carefully.Also lend an ear .
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.
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.
have one's ears on, Slang. to be listening to a CB radio, police radio, walkie-talkie, etc.
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.
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.
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.
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.
up to one's ears, deeply involved or occupied to full capacity: We are up to our ears in work.
wet behind the ears. wet (def. 19).
Origin of ear
1
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
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)
to form or put forth ears.
Origin of ear
2
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”
Definition for ear (3 of 3)
ear3
[ eer ]
/ ɪər /
verb (used with object)BritishDialect.
to plow; cultivate.
Origin of ear
3
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”
With each bite, my ears rang with that satisfying crunch and my mouth grew drier.
The Rise and Fall of the Rice Cake, America’s One-Time Favorite Health Snack|Brenna Houck|September 17, 2020|Eater
To be able to do that, you need incredible practice and a great ear.
What if Your Company Had No Rules? (Bonus Episode)|Maria Konnikova|September 12, 2020|Freakonomics
It also has adjustable strings to fit around a person’s ears.
Apple has developed special face masks for employees|Verne Kopytoff|September 9, 2020|Fortune
It’s also working on a smaller HomePod and the first pair of Apple-branded over ear headphones for release as early as later this year.
Apple is holding a Sept. 15 online event, where it’s likely to unveil its latest Watch|radmarya|September 8, 2020|Fortune
Among a comprehensive product refresh in the fall, Apple is also preparing a new iPad Air with an edge-to-edge iPad Pro-like screen, two new Apple Watch versions and its first over-ear headphones outside the Beats brand.
Apple is prepping 75 million 5G iPhones for later this year|radmarya|September 1, 2020|Fortune
In an act of corporal punishment that we at the Daily Beast do not condone, Joseph grabbed Him by the ear and “pulled hard.”
Was Baby Jesus A Holy Terror?|Candida Moss|December 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She had low-grade blood poisoning in her ear from the pin she used to pierce it.
‘My Crazy Love’ Reveals the Craziest Lies People Tell for Love|Kevin Fallon|November 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He pressed a hollow shell casing into my palm and leaned towards my ear, “I PICKED IT UP FROM THE BEDROOM!”
I Shot Bin Laden|Elliot Ackerman|November 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Muscovites call their favorite station “Ukho Moskvy” (Ear of Moscow) and see it as an institution, a compass for society.
The Kremlin Is Killing Echo of Moscow, Russia’s Last Independent Radio Station|Anna Nemtsova|November 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Di Giovanni thought “He wrote Spanish while in his ear he heard English.”
Borges Had A Genius For Literature But Not Love Or Much Else|Allen Barra|October 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
About a quarter of an hour, as I say, had elapsed since I had told them the news when a loud assertive voice fell on my ear.
Trafalgar|Benito Prez Galds
Meanwhile, low and imperfect sounds, that had in them more of inanimate than human, assailed her ear.
Ormond, Volume III (of 3)|Charles Brockden Brown
It is pear-shaped, about five-eighths of an inch long, and mounted with a gold top, and a hook to pass through the ear.
Jewellery|H. Clifford Smith,
She had not listened to Abe's reading, but some words of it had caught her ear.
The Path of the King|John Buchan
The ear is again carefully cleansed, and if possible a larger laminaria tent is substituted.
A System of Operative Surgery, Volume IV (of 4)|Various
British Dictionary definitions for ear (1 of 2)
ear1
/ (ɪə) /
noun
the organ of hearing and balance in higher vertebrates and of balance only in fishes. In man and other mammals it consists of three partsSee external ear, middle ear, internal ear Related adjectives: aural, otic
the outermost cartilaginous part of the ear (pinna) in mammals, esp man
the sense of hearing
sensitivity to musical sounds, poetic diction, etche has an ear for music
attention, esp favourable attention; consideration; heed (esp in the phrases give ear to, lend an ear)
an object resembling the external ear in shape or position, such as a handle on a jug
Also called (esp Brit): earpiecea display box at the head of a newspaper page, esp the front page, for advertisements, etc
all earsvery attentive; listening carefully
by earwithout reading from written music
chew someone's earslangto reprimand severely
fall on deaf earsto be ignored or pass unnoticed
have hard earsCaribbeanto be stubbornly disobedient
a flea in one's earinformala sharp rebuke
have the ear ofto be in a position to influencehe has the ear of the president
in one ear and out the otherheard but unheeded
keep one's ear to the groundorhave one's ear to the groundto be or try to be well informed about current trends and opinions
make a pig's ear ofinformalto ruin disastrously
one's ears are burningone is aware of being the topic of another's conversation
out on one's earinformaldismissed unceremoniously
play by ear
to act according to the demands of a situation rather than to a plan; improvise
to perform a musical piece on an instrument without written music
prick up one's earsto start to listen attentively; become interested
set by the earsto cause disagreement or commotion
a thick earinformala blow on the ear delivered as punishment, in anger, etc
turn a deaf earto be deliberately unresponsive
up to one's earsinformaldeeply involved, as in work or debt
wet behind the earsinformalinexperienced; naive; immature
Derived forms of ear
earless, adjectiveearlike, adjective
Word Origin for ear
Old English ēare; related to Old Norse eyra, Old High German ōra, Gothic ausō, Greek ous, Latin auris
British Dictionary definitions for ear (2 of 2)
ear2
/ (ɪə) /
noun
the part of a cereal plant, such as wheat or barley, that contains the seeds, grains, or kernels
verb
(intr)(of cereal plants) to develop such parts
Word Origin for ear
Old English ēar; related to Old High German ahar, Old Norse ax, Gothic ahs ear, Latin acus chaff, Greek akros pointed
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.
The organ of hearing, responsible for maintaining equilibrium as well as sensing sound and divided into the external ear, the middle ear, and the inner ear.
The part of this organ that is externally visible.
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.
An invertebrate organ analogous to the vertebrate ear.
Scientific definitions for ear (2 of 2)
ear2
[ îr ]
The seed-bearing spike of a cereal plant, such as corn or wheat.