1 ear
Pronounced:
/ˈiɚ/
Function:
nounInflected forms:
plural earsMeaning:
1 [count] : the part of the body that you hear with ▪ He was whispering something in her ear. ▪ a dog with floppy ears ▪ pierced ears [=ears with earlobes that have been pierced for wearing earrings] —see picture at face
2 [singular] a : an ability to understand and appreciate something heard ▪ He has a good ear for music/languages. b —used to describe the way something sounds to you ▪ It sounds a little old-fashioned to my ear. [=it sounds old-fashioned to me]
3 [count] : attention that is shown or given by listening to what someone says ▪ Thanks for your ear. [=thanks for listening] ▪ When I told my story, my brother listened with only half an ear. [=did not listen closely] ◊To lend an ear or, in literary language, to lend someone your ears is to listen to what someone has to say. ▪ She's always willing to lend a sympathetic ear. ▪ “Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears.” —Shakespeare, Julius Caesar (1599)
2 [singular] a : an ability to understand and appreciate something heard ▪ He has a good ear for music/languages. b —used to describe the way something sounds to you ▪ It sounds a little old-fashioned to my ear. [=it sounds old-fashioned to me]
3 [count] : attention that is shown or given by listening to what someone says ▪ Thanks for your ear. [=thanks for listening] ▪ When I told my story, my brother listened with only half an ear. [=did not listen closely] ◊To lend an ear or, in literary language, to lend someone your ears is to listen to what someone has to say. ▪ She's always willing to lend a sympathetic ear. ▪ “Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears.” —Shakespeare, Julius Caesar (1599)
all ears
informal —used to say that someone is listening very closely ▪ As I told the story, my daughter was all ears.
a word in someone's ear —see 1word
bend someone's ear —see 1bend
box someone's ears —see 3box
can't believe your ears —see believe
cock an/your ear —see 2cock
ears are burning
◊If your ears are burning or you feel your ears burning, you have the feeling that other people are talking about you. ▪ (humorous) “We were talking about you last night.” “That explains why I felt my ears burning.”
ears pop —see 1pop
fall on deaf ears
: to fail to be heard : to be ignored ▪ Her pleas for mercy fell on deaf ears.
grin/smile from ear to ear
: to smile widely : to have a big smile on your face ▪ He was grinning from ear to ear.
have someone's ear
◊If you have someone's ear you can talk and give advice to that person because you are trusted. ▪ an adviser who has the President's ear
in one ear and out the other
: through someone's mind without being remembered or noticed ▪ Everything you say to him goes in one ear and out the other. [=he doesn't listen to or remember what you say]
out on your ear
informal : forced out : thrown out ▪ If you're late to work again, you'll be out on your ear! [=you'll be fired]
play by ear
1 ◊To play a song or a piece of music by ear is to play it after hearing it without looking at written music. ▪ He could play any tune by ear after hearing it only once.
2 ◊To play it by ear is to do something without special preparation. ▪ I don't know how they'll react to our proposal, so we'll just have to play it by ear [=improvise, (informal) wing it] and hope for the best.
2 ◊To play it by ear is to do something without special preparation. ▪ I don't know how they'll react to our proposal, so we'll just have to play it by ear [=improvise, (informal) wing it] and hope for the best.
set (something) on its ear
informal : to cause something to be in a state of great excitement or shock ▪ She set the racing world on its ear [=she surprised and shocked the racing world] by winning several major races. ▪ His early recordings set the jazz world on its ear. [=his recordings caused a sensation in the jazz world]
talk someone's ear off —see 1talk
turn a deaf ear
: to refuse to listen to what someone says ▪ The company president turned a deaf ear to my proposals.
up to your ears
: deeply involved in something ▪ They are up to their ears in debt. [=they are deeply in debt] ▪ We're up to our ears in work. [=we are very busy]
wet behind the ears —see 1wet
—compare 2ear
—eared /ˈiɚd/ adjective ▪ a long-eared dog
/ˈiɚd/ adjective ▪ a long-eared dog—ear·less /ˈiɚləs/ adjective
/ˈiɚləs/ adjective