What does ear mean?

Definitions for ear
ɪərear

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word ear.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. earnoun

    the sense organ for hearing and equilibrium

  2. earnoun

    good hearing

    "he had a keen ear"; "a good ear for pitch"

  3. auricle, pinna, earnoun

    the externally visible cartilaginous structure of the external ear

  4. earnoun

    attention to what is said

    "he tried to get her ear"

  5. ear, spike, capitulumnoun

    fruiting spike of a cereal plant especially corn

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. EARnoun

    Etymology: eare, Saxon; oor, Dutch.

    What fire is in my ears! Can this be true?
    Stand I condemn’d? William Shakespeare, Much Ado about Nothing.

    His ears are open unto their cry. Ps. xxxiv. 15.

    Valsalva discovered some passages into the region of the ear drum; of mighty use, among others, to make discharges of bruises. William Derham, Physico-Theology.

    You have heard of the news abroad: I mean, the whisper’d ones; for they are yet but ear kissing arguments. William Shakespeare, K. Lear.

    His master shall bore his ear through with an awl. Ex.

    Their warlike force was sore weakened, the city beaten down about their ears, and most of them wounded. Richard Knolles.

    Better pass over an affront from one scoundrel, than draw the whole herd about a man’s ears. Roger L'Estrange.

    Be not alarmed, as if all religion was falling about our ears. Thomas Burnet, Theory.

    A cavalier was up to the ears in love with a very fine lady. Roger L'Estrange.

    Aristippus was earnest suitor to Dionysius for some grant, who would give no ear to his suit: Aristippus fell at his feet, and then Dionysius granted it. Francis Bacon, Apophthegms.

    They being told there was small hope of ease,
    Were willing at the first to give an ear
    To any thing that sounded liberty. Ben Jonson, Catiline.

    If on a pillory, or near a throne,
    He gain his prince’s ear, or lose his own. Alexander Pope, Epistles.

    He laid his sense closer, and in fewer words, according to the style and ear of those times. John Denham.

    There are some vessels, which, if you offer to lift by the belly or bottom, you cannot stir them; but are soon removed, if you take them by the ears. Jeremy Taylor, Rule of living holy.

    A quilted night-cap with one ear. William Congreve, Way of the World.

    A pot without an ear. Jonathan Swift.

    He delivereth to each of them a jewel, made in the figure of an ear of wheat, which they ever after wear. Francis Bacon.

    The leaves on trees not more,
    Nor bearded ears in fields, nor sands upon the shore. Dryd.

    From several grains he had eighty stalks, with very large ears full of large corn. John Mortimer, Husbandry.

    Poor naked men belaboured one another with shagged sticks, or dully fell together by the ears at fisty-cuffs. More.

    Fools go together by the ears, to have knaves run away with the stakes. Roger L'Estrange, Fab. 5.

    All Asia now was by the ears,
    And gods beat up for voluntiers. Matthew Prior.

    A mean rascal sets others together by the ears without fighting himself. Roger L'Estrange, Fab. 67.

    She used to carry tales from one to another, ’till she had set the neighbourhood together by the ears. Arbuthnot.

    It is usual to set these poor animals by the ears. Joseph Addison, Freeh.

  2. To Earverb

    To plow; to till.

    Etymology: aro, Latin.

    He that ears my land spares my team, and gives me leave to enjoy the crop. William Shakespeare, All’s well that ends well.

    Menecrates and Menas, famous pirates,
    Make the sea serve them, which they ear and wound
    With keels of every kind. William Shakespeare, Ant. and Cleopatra.

    Then we bring forth weeds,
    When our quick mind lies still; and our ill, told us,
    Is as our earing. William Shakespeare, Anthony and Cleopatra.

    A rough valley, which is neither eared nor sown. Deutr.

    Five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest. Gen. xlv. 6.

    The field of love, with plow of virtue ear’d. Edward Fairfax.

  3. To Earverb

    To shoot into ears.

    Etymology: from ear.

ChatGPT

  1. ear

    An ear is an organ on the sides of the head that is primarily used to detect and interpret sounds. It also plays a key role in the maintenance of balance. Anatomically, it is typically divided into three parts: the outer ear, middle ear, and inner ear, each of which has distinct functions in the process of hearing.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Earnoun

    the organ of hearing; the external ear

  2. Earnoun

    the sense of hearing; the perception of sounds; the power of discriminating between different tones; as, a nice ear for music; -- in the singular only

  3. Earnoun

    that which resembles in shape or position the ear of an animal; any prominence or projection on an object, -- usually one for support or attachment; a lug; a handle; as, the ears of a tub, a skillet, or dish. The ears of a boat are outside kneepieces near the bow. See Illust. of Bell

  4. Earnoun

    same as Acroterium

  5. Earnoun

    same as Crossette

  6. Earnoun

    privilege of being kindly heard; favor; attention

  7. Earverb

    to take in with the ears; to hear

  8. Earnoun

    the spike or head of any cereal (as, wheat, rye, barley, Indian corn, etc.), containing the kernels

  9. Earverb

    to put forth ears in growing; to form ears, as grain; as, this corn ears well

  10. Earverb

    to plow or till; to cultivate

  11. Etymology: [OE. erien, AS. erian; akin to OFries. era, OHG. erran, MHG. eren, ern, Prov. G. aren, ren, Icel. erja, Goth. arjan, Lith. arti, OSlav. orati, L. arare, Gr. . Cf. Arable.]

Wikidata

  1. Ear

    The ear is the organ that detects sound. It not only receives sound, but also aids in balance and body position. The ear is part of the auditory system. Often the entire organ is considered the ear, though it may also be considered just the visible portion. In most mammals, the visible ear is a flap of tissue that is also called the pinna and is the first of many steps in hearing. Vertebrates have a pair of ears placed somewhat symmetrically on opposite sides of the head. This arrangement aids in the ability to localize sound sources.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Ear

    ēr, n. a spike, as of corn.—v.i. to put forth ears.—n. Ear′-cock′le, a disease of wheat.—adj. Eared, of corn, having ears. [A.S. éar; Ger. ähre.]

  2. Ear

    ēr, v.t. (obs.) to plough or till.—n. Ear′ing (obs.), ploughing. [A.S. erian; cf. L. arāre, Gr. aroein.]

  3. Ear

    ēr, n. the organ of hearing, or the external part merely: the sense or power of hearing: the faculty of distinguishing sounds: attention: anything like an ear.—ns. Ear′ache, an ache or pain in the ear; Ear′bob, an earring; Ear′-cap, a covering to protect the ear from cold; Ear′drop, an ornamental pendant hanging from the ear; Ear′drum, the drum or middle cavity of the ear, tympanum (q.v.).—adj. Eared, having ears.—n. Ear′-hole, the aperture of the ear.—adj. Ear′-kiss′ing, whispered.—n. Ear′lap, the tip of the ear: an ear-cap.—adj. Ear′less, wanting ears.—ns. Ear′lock, a curl near the ear worn by Elizabethan dandies; Ear′mark, a mark set on the ears of sheep whereby their owners may distinguish them: a distinctive mark.—v.t. to put an earmark on.—n. Ear′-pick, an instrument for clearing the ear.—adj. Ear′-pierc′ing, shrill, screaming.—ns. Ear′ring, an ornamental ring worn in the ear; Ear′-shell, any shell of the family Haliotidæ; Ear′shot, the distance at which a sound can be heard; Ear′-trum′pet, a tube to aid in hearing; Ear′wax, a waxy substance secreted by the glands of the ear; Ear′wig, an insect which was supposed to creep into the brain through the ear: a flatterer.—v.t. to gain the ear of: to bias: to torment by private importunities (A.S. éarwicga, éare, ear, wicga, earwig).—n. Ear′witness, a witness that can testify from his own hearing.—About one's ears, said of a house falling, &c.; Be all ears, to give every attention; Give ear, to attend; Go in at one ear and out at the other, used of words which make no permanent impression; Have a person's ear, to be secure of his favourable attention; Have itching ears, to be desirous of hearing novelties (2 Tim. iv. 3); Lend an ear, to listen; Over head and ears, overwhelmed: deeply engrossed or involved; Set by the ears, to set at strife; Speak in the ear, to whisper; Tickle the ear, to flatter; Turn a deaf ear, to refuse to listen; Walls have ears, a proverbial phrase implying that there may be listeners behind the wall. [A.S. éare; cf. L. auris, Ger. ohr.]

U.S. National Library of Medicine

  1. Ear

    The hearing and equilibrium system of the body. It consists of three parts: the EXTERNAL EAR, the MIDDLE EAR, and the INNER EAR. Sound waves are transmitted through this organ where vibration is transduced to nerve signals that pass through the ACOUSTIC NERVE to the CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM. The inner ear also contains the vestibular organ that maintains equilibrium by transducing signals to the VESTIBULAR NERVE.

Dictionary of Nautical Terms

  1. ear

    A west-country term for a place where hatches prevent the influx of the tide.

Editors Contribution

  1. ear

    An organ of the human body.

    The ear is such an amazing thing.


    Submitted by MaryC on January 17, 2020  

Suggested Resources

  1. ear

    The ear symbol -- In this Symbols.com article you will learn about the meaning of the ear symbol and its characteristic.

  2. EAR

    What does EAR stand for? -- Explore the various meanings for the EAR acronym on the Abbreviations.com website.

Surnames Frequency by Census Records

  1. EAR

    According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Ear is ranked #47706 in terms of the most common surnames in America.

    The Ear surname appeared 444 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 would have the surname Ear.

    83.3% or 370 total occurrences were Asian.
    9.2% or 41 total occurrences were White.
    2.9% or 13 total occurrences were of two or more races.
    1.8% or 8 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
    1.5% or 7 total occurrences were Black.
    1.1% or 5 total occurrences were American Indian or Alaskan Native.

British National Corpus

  1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'ear' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #3519

  2. Written Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'ear' in Written Corpus Frequency: #2782

  3. Nouns Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'ear' in Nouns Frequency: #787

Anagrams for ear »

  1. era

  2. aer

  3. rea

  4. are

How to pronounce ear?

How to say ear in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of ear in Chaldean Numerology is: 8

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of ear in Pythagorean Numerology is: 6

Examples of ear in a Sentence

  1. Allan Lokos:

    You can see there is still a two-toned look where the graft was, lost a little bit of ear, which you don’t really notice if I don’t tell you about. But they thought I would lose the whole ear.

  2. Michael Lopez:

    We’re playing it by ear and doing everything we can to make sure we can get these teams out there and we just want to actually say how grateful we are for these different sectors to allow us to do the training there.

  3. Thomas Adams:

    One eye-witness is better than ten ear-witnesses.

  4. Leone Levi:

    Man has six organs to serve him and he is master only of three. He cannot control his eye, ear or nose, but he can his mouth, hand and foot.

  5. Francis Quarles:

    The average person's ear weighs what you are, not what you were.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

ear#1#4593#10000

Translations for ear

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

Get even more translations for ear »

Translation

Find a translation for the ear definition in other languages:

Select another language:

  • - Select -
  • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
  • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
  • Español (Spanish)
  • Esperanto (Esperanto)
  • 日本語 (Japanese)
  • Português (Portuguese)
  • Deutsch (German)
  • العربية (Arabic)
  • Français (French)
  • Русский (Russian)
  • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
  • 한국어 (Korean)
  • עברית (Hebrew)
  • Gaeilge (Irish)
  • Українська (Ukrainian)
  • اردو (Urdu)
  • Magyar (Hungarian)
  • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
  • Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Italiano (Italian)
  • தமிழ் (Tamil)
  • Türkçe (Turkish)
  • తెలుగు (Telugu)
  • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
  • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
  • Čeština (Czech)
  • Polski (Polish)
  • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Românește (Romanian)
  • Nederlands (Dutch)
  • Ελληνικά (Greek)
  • Latinum (Latin)
  • Svenska (Swedish)
  • Dansk (Danish)
  • Suomi (Finnish)
  • فارسی (Persian)
  • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
  • հայերեն (Armenian)
  • Norsk (Norwegian)
  • English (English)

Word of the Day

Would you like us to send you a FREE new word definition delivered to your inbox daily?

Please enter your email address:


Citation

Use the citation below to add this definition to your bibliography:

Style:MLAChicagoAPA

"ear." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/ear>.

Discuss these ear definitions with the community:

0 Comments

    Are we missing a good definition for ear? Don't keep it to yourself...

    Image or illustration of

    ear

    Credit »

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Chrome

    Get instant definitions for any word that hits you anywhere on the web!

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Firefox

    Get instant definitions for any word that hits you anywhere on the web!

    Browse Definitions.net

    Quiz

    Are you a words master?

    »
    a motley assortment of things
    A sweep
    B abandon
    C hodgepodge
    D concoction

    Nearby & related entries:

    Alternative searches for ear: