ear

noun
UK: /ɪə/
US: /ɪr/

  1. The organ of hearing in humans and animals.

    1. My ear hurts, I think I have an infection. [ ] [ ]
    2. She whispered a secret directly into my ear so no one else could hear. [ ] [ ]

  2. The ability to recognize and appreciate sounds and music.

    1. He has a good ear for music, he can play any melody. [ ] [ ]
    2. Developing an ear for languages involves listening carefully to the subtle nuances. [ ] [ ]

  3. The part of a cereal plant containing the seeds; for example, an ear of corn.

    1. We harvested many ears of corn this autumn. [ ] [ ]
    2. The farmer checked the ears of wheat to assess the ripeness of the crop. [ ] [ ]

Synonyms

attend listen auricle
ear verb

  1. To listen attentively or pay attention.

    1. Ear to the ground, something is happening. [ ] [ ]
    2. The journalist needed to ear every detail of the unfolding scandal. [ ] [ ]
ear transitive-verb

  1. To overhear something unintentionally

    1. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ear that. [ ] [ ]
    2. She eared their conversation while waiting outside the office. [ ] [ ]

Frequently Asked Questions

The word "ear" in English means: The organ of hearing in humans and animals., The ability to recognize and appreciate sounds and music., The part of a cereal plant containing the seeds; for example, an ear of corn..

The phonetic transcription of "ear" is /ɪə/ in British English and /ɪr/ in American English. Click the 🔊 button to hear both pronunciations.

Synonyms for "ear": attend, listen, auricle.

Example usage of "ear": "My ear hurts, I think I have an infection.". More examples on the page.