noun, slang ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   A pain in the middle or inner ear. countable, uncountable
2. 2
   an ache localized in the middle or inner ear wordnet
3. 3
   Annoyance or aggravation caused by noise, especially the sound of someone nagging, complaining, issuing orders, etc. countable, informal, uncountable

   "I can't stay too late at the pub, otherwise I'll get a load of earache from the missus."

Synonyms

All synonyms

otalgiaacheachinganginabellyachecolic

Example

More examples

"I'm feeling OK except for the earache."

Etymology

From ear + ache.

Related phrases

inner earmiddle ear

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.