English▸ noun the organ of hearing and balance in humans and other vertebrates, especially the external part of this.
▪ an organ sensitive to sound in other animals.
▪ [in singular] an ability to recognize, appreciate, and reproduce sounds, especially music or language:
an ear for rhythm and melody.
▪ used to refer to a person's willingness to listen to others:
she offers a sympathetic ear to worried pet owners.
The ear of a mammal is composed of three parts. The outer or external ear consists of a fleshy external flap and a tube leading to the eardrum or tympanum. The middle ear is an air-filled cavity connected to the throat, containing three small linked bones that transmit vibrations from the eardrum to the inner ear. The inner ear is a complex fluid-filled labyrinth including the spiral cochlea (where vibrations are converted to nerve impulses) and the three semicircular canals (forming the organ of balance).
– PHRASES
around one's ears (also about one's ears)
used to emphasize how directly a disastrous collapse or failure affects someone:
used to emphasize how directly a disastrous collapse or failure affects someone:
you can do the best research and write the most impressive business plan, and it can still fall around your ears
she brought her world crashing about her ears.
one's ears are burning
one is subconsciously aware of being talked about or criticized:
one is subconsciously aware of being talked about or criticized:
certain officials in the police department will find their ears are burning before long.
grin from ear to ear (also smile from ear to ear)
smile broadly:
smile broadly:
you'll come out of the show grinning from ear to ear.
have something coming out of one's ears informal
have a substantial amount of something:
have a substantial amount of something:
that man's got money coming out of his ears.
have someone's ear
have access to and influence with someone:
have access to and influence with someone:
he claimed to have the prime minister's ear.
have an ear to the ground (also keep an ear to the ground)
be well informed about events and trends:
be well informed about events and trends:
the good leader has his ear to the ground and will know when real doubts are growing.
in one ear and out the other
heard but quickly forgotten:
heard but quickly forgotten:
whatever he tells me seems to go in one ear and out the other.
listen with half an ear
not give one's full attention:
not give one's full attention:
throughout the meeting Bobby only had listened with half an ear.
be out on one's ear informal
be dismissed ignominiously:
be dismissed ignominiously:
if this cheque bounces, you're out on your ear.
– ORIGIN Old English ēare, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch oor and German Ohr, from an Indo-European root shared by Latin auris and Greek ous.