: the characteristic vertebrate organ of hearing and equilibrium consisting in the typical mammal of a sound-collecting outer ear separated by the tympanic membrane from a sound-transmitting middle ear that in turn is separated from a sensory inner ear by membranous fenestrae
b
: any of various organs (as of a fish) capable of detecting vibratory motion
2
: the external ear of humans and most mammals
3
a
: the sense or act of hearing
b
: acuity of hearing
c
: sensitivity to musical tone and pitch
also: the ability to retain and reproduce music that has been heard
d
: sensitivity to nuances of language especially as revealed in the command of verbal melody and rhythm or in the ability to render a spoken idiom accurately
4
: something resembling a mammalian ear in shape, position, or function: such as
a
: a projecting part (such as a lug or handle)
b
: either of a pair of tufts of lengthened feathers on the head of some birds
: a space in the upper corner of the front page of a periodical (such as a newspaper) usually containing advertising for the periodical itself or a weather forecast
Noun (1)
I'm trying to get the boss's ear in order to ask for a raise in my pay
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
The duo loads up the eight ears of corn into a pan and adds about 3/4 cup of water, 1/4 cup of butter, 2 tablespoons of sugar, and (a good amount of) salt and pepper to taste.—Christianna Silva, Better Homes & Gardens, 7 June 2024 Things are wriggling, scuffling, jetting by your ear on the way to nectar.—Murr Brewster, The Christian Science Monitor, 6 June 2024 Some people with long Covid also report changes to their sense of taste and smell, or visual and auditory changes, like blurry vision, or ringing ears.—Isabella Cueto, STAT, 6 June 2024 Choose one with a wide brim to protect your ears, head, and neck.—Bethany Braun-Silva, ABC News, 5 June 2024 See all Example Sentences for ear
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ear.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Noun (1)
Middle English ere, from Old English ēare; akin to Old High German ōra ear, Latin auris, Greek ous
Noun (2)
Middle English er, ere, going back to Old English ēar (Northumbrian æhher), going back to Germanic *ahaz (whence also Old Frisian ār "ear of grain," Middle Dutch aer, aere, Old Saxon ehir, Old High German ah, ahar, ehir, Old Norse ax, Gothic ahs), going back to Indo-European *h2eḱ-es-, s-stem derivative from the base *h2eḱ- "sharp, pointed" (in reference to a spike of grain perhaps originally referring to the awns, then generalized to the entire spike), whence also Latin acer-, acus "husks of grain or legumes, chaff," Tocharian B āke "end," Tocharian A āk — more at edge entry 1
Note:
The diverse outcomes in Germanic assume generalization throughout the paradigm of the original stem variants: most forms from oblique stems *ahuz-, ahiz-, but Old High German ah, from nominative *ahaz and Old Norse ax, Gothic ahs, from a syncopated stem *ah-sa-.
: the organ of hearing and balance of vertebrates that in the typical mammal consists of a sound-collecting outer ear separated by an eardrum from a sound-carrying middle ear that in turn is separated from an inner ear containing neurons that receive sound and send nerve impulses to the brain
: the characteristic vertebrate organ of hearing and equilibrium consisting in the typical mammal of a sound-collecting outer ear separated by the tympanic membrane from a sound-transmitting middle ear that in turn is separated from a sensory inner ear by membranous fenestrae
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