ear1

[eer] /ɪər/
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.
Idioms
12.
be all ears, Informal. to give all one's attention; listen:
We were all ears as the scandal was revealed.
13.
bend an ear, to listen attentively:
to bend an ear to a request for aid.
14.
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.
15.
by ear, without reference to written or printed music:
to play the piano by ear.
16.
fall on deaf ears, to be disregarded; pass unheeded:
Their pleas for mercy fell on deaf ears.
17.
give ear, to pay attention; listen carefully.
Also, lend an ear.
18.
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.
19.
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.
20.
have one's ears on, Slang. to be listening through earphones to a radio, cassette player, telephone communication, or the like.
21.
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.
22.
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.
23.
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.
24.
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.
25.
up to one's ears, deeply involved or occupied to full capacity:
We are up to our ears in work.
26.
wet behind the ears. wet (def 19).
Origin
before 900; Middle English ere, Old English ēare; cognate with Old Norse eyra, German Ohr, Gothic auso, Latin auris, Lithuanian ausìs, Greek oûs
Related forms
earless, adjective
earlike, adjective

ear2

[eer] /ɪər/
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)
2.
to form or put forth ears.
Origin
before 900; Middle English ere, Old English ēar, æhher; cognate with German Ahre, Old Norse ax, Gothic ahs ear, Latin acus husk

ear3

[eer] /ɪər/
verb (used with object), British Dialect
1.
to plow; cultivate.
Origin
before 900; Middle English ere(n), Old English erian; cognate with Old Norse erja, Gothic arjan, Latin arāre
Examples from the web for ear
  • It has three parts: the outer, middle, and inner ear.
  • The low-tech hearing aid is an update to simply cupping your hand to your ear.
  • ear tube insertion involves placing tubes through the eardrums.
  • Much of the richness of life is absorbed through the ear.
  • Hold husked ear of corn upright in a deep, wide bowl.
  • Her fine-tuned ear isolates the croaks of frogs and the croons of other creatures, and she mimics them for my untrained ear.
  • Please be careful when using ear buds or headphones.
  • When the mantis hears the bat's ultrasonic cries, the ear sends a signal to the brain via the auditory nerve.
  • Elephants may look alike to you and me, but the shapes of their ear flaps and their tusks set them apart.
  • In a breakthrough for cloning research, researchers produce calves from the ear of a prize bull.
British Dictionary definitions for ear

ear1

/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 related adjectives aural otic
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.
(slang) chew someone's ear, to reprimand severely
11.
fall on deaf ears, to be ignored or pass unnoticed
12.
(Caribbean) have hard ears, to be stubbornly disobedient
13.
(informal) a flea in one's ear, 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, have one's ear to the ground, to be or try to be well informed about current trends and opinions
17.
(informal) make a pig's ear of, to ruin disastrously
18.
one's ears are burning, one is aware of being the topic of another's conversation
19.
(informal) out on one's ear, 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.
(informal) a thick ear, a blow on the ear delivered as punishment, in anger, etc
24.
turn a deaf ear, to be deliberately unresponsive
25.
(informal) up to one's ears, deeply involved, as in work or debt
26.
(informal) wet behind the ears, inexperienced; naive; immature
Derived Forms
earless, adjective
earlike, adjective
Word Origin
Old English ēare; related to Old Norse eyra, Old High German ōra, Gothic ausō, Greek ous, Latin auris

ear2

/ɪə/
noun
1.
the part of a cereal plant, such as wheat or barley, that contains the seeds, grains, or kernels
verb
2.
(intransitive) (of cereal plants) to develop such parts
Word Origin
Old English ēar; related to Old High German ahar, Old Norse ax, Gothic ahs ear, Latin acus chaff, Greek akros pointed
Word Origin and History for ear
n.

"organ of hearing," Old English eare "ear," from Proto-Germanic *auzon (cf. Old Norse eyra, Danish øre, Old Frisian are, Old Saxon ore, Middle Dutch ore, Dutch oor, Old High German ora, German Ohr, Gothic auso), from PIE *ous- with a sense of "perception" (cf. Greek aus, Latin auris, Lithuanian ausis, Old Church Slavonic ucho, Old Irish au "ear," Avestan usi "the two ears").

The belief that itching or burning ears means someone is talking about you is mentioned in Pliny's "Natural History" (77 C.E.). Until at least the 1880s, even some medical men still believed piercing the ear lobes improved one's eyesight. Meaning "handle of a pitcher" is mid-15c. (but cf. Old English earde "having a handle"). To be wet behind the ears "naive" is implied from 1914. Phrase walls have ears attested from 1610s. Ear-bash (v.) is Australian slang (1944) for "to talk inordinately" (to someone).

"grain part of corn," from Old English ear (West Saxon), æher (Northumbrian) "spike, ear of grain," from Proto-Germanic *akhaz (genitive *akhizaz; cf. Dutch aar, Old High German ehir, German Ähre, Old Norse ax, Gothic ahs "ear of corn"), from PIE root *ak- "sharp, pointed" (cf. Latin acus "husk of corn," Greek akoste "barley;" see acrid).

ear in Medicine

ear (ēr)
n.

  1. 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.

  2. The part of this organ that is externally visible.

  3. The sense of hearing.

ear in Science
ear 1
  (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 2
  (îr)   
The seed-bearing spike of a cereal plant, such as corn or wheat.
ear in Culture

ear definition


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.

Slang definitions & phrases for ear

ear

verb

To listen; hear: Rosen Tapes To Be Eared By The Judge (1583+)

Related Terms

all ears, bend someone's ear, blow it out, cauliflower ear, chew someone's ear off, elephant ears, have something coming out of one's ears, in a pig's ass, not dry behind the ears, pin someone's ears back, play it by ear, pound one's ear, pretty ear, pull in one's ears, put a bug in someone's ear, put it in your ear, rabbit ears, stand around with one's finger up one's ass, steam was coming out of someone's ears, stick it, talk someone's ear off, warm someone's ear


ear in the Bible

used frequently in a figurative sense (Ps. 34:15). To "uncover the ear" is to show respect to a person (1 Sam. 20:2 marg.). To have the "ear heavy", or to have "uncircumcised ears" (Isa. 6:10), is to be inattentive and disobedient. To have the ear "bored" through with an awl was a sign of perpetual servitude (Ex. 21:6).

Idioms and Phrases with ear

ear

In addition to the idioms beginning with ear
ear to the ground, have one's
also see: