What does "ear" mean?
The organ of hearing, consisting of the pinna or auricle, auditory canal, eardrum, malleus, incus, stapes and cochlea.
Ear
/ɪə̯/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The organ of hearing, consisting of the pinna or auricle, auditory canal, eardrum, malleus, incus, stapes and cochlea.
- Grammar: ear is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: auricle, pinna, advertence, advertency.
- Usage evidence: David has a keen interest in aesthetics — the qualities that make a painting, sculpture, musical composition, or poem pleasing to the eye, ear, or mind.
How to use "ear"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "ear" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "ear" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "ear" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "ear" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "ear" is acting as noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "auricle" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "ear", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The organ of hearing, consisting of the pinna or auricle, auditory canal, eardrum, malleus, incus, stapes and cochlea. countable
- 2 The fruiting body of a grain plant. countable
"He is in the fields, harvesting ears of corn."
- 3 Initialism of Enterprise Application Archive, a file format used to package Java applications. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
- 4 the sense organ for hearing and equilibrium wordnet
- 5 The external part of the organ of hearing, the auricle. countable
"Judge Short had gone to town, and Farrar was off for a three days' cruise up the lake. I was bitterly regretting I had not gone with him when the distant notes of a coach horn reached my ear, and I descried a four-in-hand winding its way up the inn road from the direction of Mohair."
Show 15 more definitions
- 6 Initialism of estimated average requirements. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
- 7 the externally visible cartilaginous structure of the external ear wordnet
- 8 A police informant. countable, slang
"No I'm not kidding, and if you don't give it to me I'll let it out that you’re an ear."
- 9 good hearing wordnet
- 10 The sense of hearing; the perception of sounds; skill or good taste in listening to music.
"a good ear for music"
- 11 attention to what is said wordnet
- 12 The privilege of being kindly heard; favour; attention.
"Dionysius[…]would give no ear to his suit."
- 13 fruiting spike of a cereal plant especially corn wordnet
- 14 That which resembles in shape or position the ear of an animal; a prominence or projection on an object, usually for support or attachment; a lug; a handle; a foot-rest or step of a spade or a similar digging tool.
"the ears of a tub, skillet, or dish; The ears of a boat are outside kneepieces near the bow."
- 15 An acroterium.
- 16 A crossette.
- 17 A space to the left or right of a publication's front-page title, used for advertising, weather, etc.
"In journalism, ears flank the title as boxes in the left and right top corners of a publication (generally a newspaper)."
- 18 A curled ridge in the crust of a loaf of bread where the dough was slashed before going into the oven and expands during baking.
- 19 The outer panels or flaps (protrusions) of a diaper upon which the fasteners are located, which are fastened around the wearer's waist.
- 20 A path whose endpoints may coincide but in which otherwise there are no repetitions of vertices or edges.
Verb
- 1 To take in with the ears; to hear. humorous, transitive
"I eared her language."
- 2 To put forth ears in growing; to form ears, as grain does. intransitive
"This corn ears well."
- 3 To plough. archaic
"That power I have, discharge; and let them go To ear the land that hath some hope to grow, For I have none."
- 4 To hold by the ears. transitive
"Sometimes, the helper eared the horse down; and sometimes he used a blindfold."
Example
"David has a keen interest in aesthetics — the qualities that make a painting, sculpture, musical composition, or poem pleasing to the eye, ear, or mind."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "ear"?
Common synonyms include: auricle, pinna, advertence, advertency, alertness, anvil.
How do you use "ear" in a sentence?
David has a keen interest in aesthetics — the qualities that make a painting, sculpture, musical composition, or poem pleasing to the eye, ear, or mind.
How do you pronounce "ear"?
Pronounced /ɪə̯/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English ere, eare, from Old English ēare (“ear”), from Proto-West Germanic *auʀā, from the voiced Verner alternant of Proto-Germanic *ausô (“ear”) (compare Scots ear, West Frisian ear, Dutch oor, German Ohr, Swedish öra, Danish øre), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ṓws (compare Old Irish áu, Latin auris, Lithuanian ausi̇̀s, Russian у́хо (úxo), Albanian vesh, Ancient Greek οὖς (oûs), and Old Armenian ունկն (unkn).
Etymology 2
From Middle English eere, er, from Old English ēar (Northumbrian dialect æhher), from Proto-West Germanic *ahaʀ, from Proto-Germanic *ahaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ- (“sharp”). See also West Frisian ier, Dutch aar, German Ähre; also Latin acus (“needle; husk”), Tocharian B āk (“ear, awn”), Old Church Slavonic ость (ostĭ, “wheat spike, sharp point”). More at edge.
Etymology 3
From Middle English eren, from Old English erian, from Proto-West Germanic *arjan, from Proto-Germanic *arjaną, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂erh₃- (“to plough”).