ear

ear

ear [ear ears]   [ɪə(r)]    [ɪr]  noun
1. countable either of the organs on the sides of the head that you hear with
• an ear infection
• the inner/outer ear
• She whispered something in his ear.
• He put his hands over his ears.
• She's had her ears pierced.
• The elephant flapped its ears.
• He was always there with a sympathetic ear (= a willingness to listen to people).

see also  cauliflower ear, glue ear, middle ear

2. -eared (in adjectives) having the type of ears mentioned

• a long-eared owl

3. singular an ability to recognize and copy sounds well
• She has always had an ear for languages.

• You need a good ear to master the piano.

4. countable the top part of a grain plant, such as wheat, that contains the seeds
• ears of corn
more at not believe your ears/eyes at  believe, bend sb's ear (about sth) at  bend  _v., give sb a box on the ears at  box  _n., box sb's ears at  box  _v., cock an ear/eye at sth/sb at  cock  _v., fall on deaf earsturn a deaf ear at  deaf  _adj., easy on the ear/eye at  easy  _adj., feel your ears burning at  feel  _v., with a flea in your ear at  flea, lend an ear at  lend, music to your ears at  music, keep your ears/eyes open at  open  _adj., make a pig's ear of sth at  pig  _n., prick (up) your ears at  prick  _v., ring in your ears/head at  ring  _v., make a silk purse (out of a sow's ear) at  silk, give sb/get a thick ear at  thick  _adj., walls have ears at  wall  _n., (still) wet behind the ears at  wet  _adj., have a word in sb's ear at  word  _n.
Idioms: all ears ▪ go in one ear and out the other ▪ grin from ear to ear ▪ have somebody's ear ▪ have something coming out of your ears ▪ have the ear of somebody ▪ keep your ear to the ground ▪ out on your ear ▪ play by ear ▪ play it by ear ▪ shut your ears to something ▪ somebody's ears are burning ▪ somebody's ears are flapping ▪ something comes to somebody's ears ▪ up to your ears in something ▪ with half an ear  
Word Origin:
senses 1 to 3 and
Old English ēare Germanic Dutch oor German Ohr Indo-European Latin auris Greek ous
sense 4 Old English ēar Germanic Dutch aar German Ähre
 
Example Bank:
• ‘We were talking about you last night.’ ‘I thought my ears were burning.’
• A blast of punk rock music assaulted her ears.
• A horse may show annoyance by putting its ears back.
• A small noise caught his ear.
• At first I stopped my ears to what I did not want to hear.
• Blood from his torn ear was soaking his collar.
• Chinese music uses a scale that is unfamiliar to Western ears.
• Christopher felt his ears reddening.
• Come on, tell me, I'm all ears.
• Dogs can hear things that human ears can't hear.
• Drop a quiet word in her ear about it before it's too late.
• Each animal receives an individual ear tag.
• Even if my fears were silly, he always had an open ear.
• He arrived home hungry, and the noise from the kitchen was music to his ears.
• He could hear much better after having his ears cleaned out.
• He had three ear piercings.
• He has a good ear for accents and can usually tell where a speaker comes from.
• He has a keen ear for dialogue.
• He has really big ears that stick out.
• He listened to her with only half an ear as he watched TV.
• He plugged his ears to drown out the music.
• He plugged his ears with tissue paper to drown out the music.
• He pressed his ear to the door, but heard nothing.
• He waited in the darkness, his ears alert for the slightest sound.
• He was always willing to lend an ear.
• He was beaming from ear to ear.
• He went home with the teacher's warning ringing in his ears.
• Her ears listened expectantly.
• His ears pricked up when he heard his name mentioned.
• His sharp ears had picked up the uncertainty in her voice.
• I have a few words for your ears alone.
• I knew that my words were going in one ear and out the other.
• I strained my ears to catch the conversation in the other room.
• I'll keep my ears open for a second-hand bike for you.
• I'm sorry for talking your ear off.
• I've just had my ears pierced so I'm going to buy some earrings.
• If news of the break-in reaches the boss's ears, we're in trouble.
• If you suck a sweet as the plane takes off it stops your ears popping.
• In the silence everyone seemed to be aware of listening ears.
• It takes time to attune your ear to the local accent.
• My heart was pounding in my ears.
• She actually apologized. I couldn't believe my ears!
• She always provided a sympathetic ear for students with problems.
• She bent my ear about it for three days.
• She couldn't see, but her ears told her that the guards had arrived.
• She did not like the plan, as she made clear every time she found a receptive ear= sb willing to listen.
• She did not like the scheme, as she made clear every time she found a receptive ear.
• She has a tin ear for melody.
• She nibbled on his ear.
• She put her hands over her ears to block out what he was saying.
• She put on her ear muffs and went out into the snow.
• She stood outside the room, her ears straining to hear what they were saying.
• She usually plays the guitar by ear, rather than reading the music.
• Some of the words used in 18th-century writing sound strange to modern ears.
• The dog pricked up its ears.
• The explosion set my ears ringing and even made me jump a bit.
• The horse lifted its head and flicked its ears.
• The music was so loud I had to cover my ears.
• The music was so loud that it hurt my ears.
• The sound of the blast filled my ears.
• The teacher turned a deaf ear to the boy's requests= ignored them.
• The teacher turned a deaf ear to the boy's swearing.
• The voices buzzing all around echoed in her ears.
• Their complaints about the poor service fell on deaf ears.
• This was the woman who had the ear of the President.
• To the trained ear the calls of these birds sound quite different.
• When the notes are played so close together the ear hears no space between them.

• a rabbit with long floppy ears