What does "earplug" mean?

A piece of protective gear meant to be inserted in the ear canal to protect the wearer's hearing from loud noises or the intrusion of water.

What is a synonym for "earplug"?

Common synonyms include: flesh tunnel.

noun, verb

noun, verb ·2 syllables ·Rare ·Advanced level

Noun

1
A piece of protective gear meant to be inserted in the ear canal to protect the wearer's hearing from loud noises or the intrusion of water.
2
a plug of cotton, wax, or rubber that is fitted into the ear canal for protection against the entry of water or loud noise wordnet
3
an earphone that is inserted into the ear canal wordnet

Verb

1
To fit with earplugs. transitive
"In this same strain of mouse, earplugging from 17-22 days postpartum is effective in inducing susceptibility to audiogenic seizures..."

"In this same strain of mouse, earplugging from 17-22 days postpartum is effective in inducing susceptibility to audiogenic seizures..."

From ear + plug.

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