• (Received Pronunciation)IPA^(key):/ɪə̯/;[ɪː],[iː.ə]

  • Audio(Received Pronunciation):

    (file)

• (General American,Canada)IPA^(key):/ɪəɹ/,/iɹ/,/i˞/

  • Audio(Canada):

    (file)

  • Audio(General American):

    (file)

• (General Australian)IPA^(key):/ɪə̯/;[ɪː],[ɪə̯~ɪɐ̯]
• (New Zealand)IPA^(key):/iə̯/;[iːə̯],[ɪə̯~eə̯]
• (Scotland)IPA^(key):/iɹ/;[iːɹ]
• (East Anglia,cheer–chair merger)IPA^(key):/ɛː/
• Homophones:air,heir(bothcheer–chair merger)
• Rhymes:-ɪə(ɹ)

FromMiddle Englishere,eare, fromOld Englishēare(“ear”), fromProto-West Germanic*auʀā, from the voicedVerner alternant ofProto-Germanic*ausô(“ear”) (compareScotsear,West Frisianear,Dutchoor,GermanOhr,Swedishöra,Danishøre), fromProto-Indo-European*h₂ṓws (compareOld Irisháu,Latinauris,Lithuanianausi̇̀s,Russianу́хо(úxo),Albanianvesh,Ancient Greekοὖς(oûs),Old Armenianունկն(unkn), andPersianگوش(gôš)).

ear (pluralears)

2. (countable) Theorgan ofhearing, consisting of thepinna/auricle,auditory canal,eardrum,malleus,incus,stapes andcochlea.
3. (countable) The external part of the organ of hearing, theauricle.
   • 1897 December (indicated as1898),Winston Churchill, chapter IV, inThe Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.:The Macmillan Company; London:Macmillan & Co., Ltd.,→OCLC:

     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 myear, and I descried a four-in-hand winding its way up the inn road from the direction of Mohair.

4. (countable,slang) Apoliceinformant.
   • 1976, Stirling Silliphant, Dean Riesner, Gail Morgan Hickman,The Enforcer:

     No I'm not kidding, and if you don't give it to me I'll let it out that you’re anear.

5. The sense of hearing; the perception of sounds; skill or good taste in listening to music.

   a goodear for music

   • 1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “(please specify |part=Prologue or Rpilogue, or |canto=I to CXXIX)”, inIn Memoriam, London:Edward Moxon, […],→OCLC:

     songs[…]not all ungrateful to thineear

6. The privilege of being kindly heard; favour; attention.
   • 1625,Francis [Bacon],Apophthegmes New and Old. […], London:[…] Hanna Barret, and Richard Whittaker, […],→OCLC:

     Dionysius[…]would give noear to his suit.

   • 1599 (first performance),William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar”, inMr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London:[…]Isaac Iaggard, andEd[ward] Blount, published1623,→OCLC,[Act III, scene ii]:

     Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me yourears.

   • 1990 August 19, Uwe Stelbrink, quotee, “Fear and uncertainty breed xenophobia in E. Germany”, inDemocrat and Chronicle, volume158, Rochester, N.Y., page 5A:

     They don’t know if they’re going to have a job in a week or a month. They don’t know if they can pay the rising prices. Instead of the paradise they expected July 1, their total existence is unsure. That some foreigners get beaten—nobody has anear for that now.

8. That which resembles in shape or position the ear of an animal; aprominence orprojection on an object, usually forsupport orattachment; alug; ahandle; a foot-rest orstep of aspade or a similar digging tool.

   Coordinate terms:boss,eye

   theears of a tub, skillet, or dish;   Theears of a boat are outside kneepieces near the bow.

   • 1886,Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad,Folk and Fairy Tales, page291:

     When they got as far as the little valley north of Oppenhagen - where the land-slip took place - he thought he sat between theears of a bucket; but shortly this vanished also, and it was only then he really came to himself again.

9. (architecture) Anacroterium.
10. (architecture) Acrossette.
11. (journalism) A space to the left or right of apublication's front-pagetitle, used foradvertising,weather, etc.
    • 2006, Richard Weiner, Charles M. Levine,The Skinny about Best Boys, Dollies, Green Rooms, Leads, and Other Media Lingo, page26:

      In journalism,ears flank the title as boxes in the left and right top corners of a publication (generally a newspaper).

12. (baking) Acurledridge in thecrust of a loaf of bread where thedough wasslashed before going into theoven andexpands duringbaking.
13. (graph theory) Apath whoseendpoints maycoincide but in which otherwise there are norepetitions ofvertices oredges.

• ere(obsolete)

• auricle
• auricula
• pinna

• English terms starting with “ear”

• Tok Pisin:ia

ear (third-person singular simple presentears,present participleearing,simple past and past participleeared)

1. (humorous) To take in with the ears; tohear.
   • 1613–1614 (date written),John Fletcher,William Shak[e]speare,The Two Noble Kinsmen: […], London:[…]Tho[mas] Cotes, forIohn Waterson; […], published1634,→OCLC,(please specify the page),(please specify the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):

     Ieared her language.

2. Tohold by theears.
   • 1964,John Hendrix,If I Can Do It Horseback: A Cow-Country Sketchbook, page40:

     Sometimes, the helpereared the horse down; and sometimes he used a blindfold.

   • 2013, Fay E. Ward,The Cowboy at Work:

     The general technique was to rope the horse around the neck, and, while one or two meneared the horse down (held him by the ears), the rider saddled the animal and stepped above him.

•  ear on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• aural

FromMiddle Englisheere,er, fromOld Englishēar (Northumbrian dialectæhher), fromProto-West Germanic*ahaʀ, fromProto-Germanic*ahaz, fromProto-Indo-European*h₂eḱ-(“sharp”).

See alsoWest Frisianier,Dutchaar,GermanÄhre; alsoLatinacus(“needle; husk”),Tocharian Bāk(“ear, awn”),Old Church Slavonicость(ostĭ,“wheat spike, sharp point”). More atedge.

ear (pluralears)

2. (countable) The fruiting body of agrain plant.

   He is in the fields, harvestingears of corn.

• head
• spike

• corn earworm
• earshoot

ear (third-person singular simple presentears,present participleearing,simple past and past participleeared)

1. (intransitive) To put forth ears in growing; to form ears, as grain does.

   This cornears well.

FromMiddle Englisheren, fromOld Englisherian, fromProto-West Germanic*arjan, fromProto-Germanic*arjaną, fromProto-Indo-European*h₂erh₃-(“to plough”).

ear (third-person singular simple presentears,present participleearing,simple past and past participleeared)

1. (archaic) Toplough.
   • 1595 December 9 (first known performance),William Shakespeare, “The life and death of King Richard the Second”, inMr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London:[…]Isaac Iaggard, andEd[ward] Blount, published1623,→OCLC,(please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):

     That power I have, discharge; and let them go
     Toear the land that hath some hope to grow,
     For I have none.

   • 1611,The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London:[…]Robert Barker, […],→OCLC,Deuteronomy21:4:

     And the elders of that city shall bring down the heifer unto a rough valley, which is neithereared nor sown, and shall strike off the heifer's neck there in the valley

• earable

• Åre,Rea,rea,REA,aer-,A.R.E.,ReA,ARE,aër-,Are,Aer,ERA,era,are,Rae

Derived fromEnglishear.

ear

1. (countable)ear(theorgan ofhearing, consisting of thepinna/auricle,auditory canal,eardrum,malleus,incus,stapes andcochlea)
   • 2000, “Matthew 11”, in Joseph Grimes, transl.,Da Jesus Book: Hawaii Pidgin New Testament‎^[1], Wycliffe Bible Translators,→ISBN,page32:

     You guys getears fo hear, you betta listen!

     He who hasears to hear, let him hear.

• IPA^(key):/aɾˠ/

ear

1. The name of theLatin-script letterr/R.

• (Latin-script letter names)litir;á,bé,cé,dé,é,eif,gé,héis,í,jé,cá,eil,eim,ein,ó,pé,cú,ear,eas,té,ú,vé,wae,ex,yé,zae
• Note: The English names are also widely used by Irish speakers.

ear

1. first-personsingularpresentpassivesubjunctive ofeō

ear

1. Alternative form ofeere(“ear of grain”)

• IPA^(key):/æ͜ɑːr/

FromProto-West Germanic*aur, fromProto-Germanic*auraz. Akin toOld Norseaurr(“mud”).

ēar m

1. billow,wave
2. sea,ocean
3. earth

Stronga-stem:

• Old English:Ēarmūþa
  • English:Yarmouth

FromProto-West Germanic*ahaʀ, fromProto-Germanic*ahaz, fromProto-Indo-European*h₂eḱ-(“pointed”).

• æhher —Northumbrian

ēar n

1. ear (of corn)

Stronga-stem:

• Middle English:eere,ear,ere,er,ȝer,eyre
  • English:ear
  • Scots:aicher,icker,aiker (<æhher)

ear (notcomparable)

1. Alternative form ofair(“early”)

• “ear,adv., adj.”, inThe Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh:Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present,→OCLC.

FromOld Irishanair(literally“from before”), equivalent to moderna(“from”) +air(“before”).

ear f

1. east

   Antonym:iar

compass points: ^[edit]

• Edward Dwelly (1911) “ear”, inFaclair Gàidhlig gu Beurla le Dealbhan [The Illustrated Gaelic–English Dictionary]‎^[2], 10th edition, Edinburgh: Birlinn Limited,→ISBN
• “ear” inAm Faclair Beag - Scottish Gaelic Dictionary.
• “ear”, inLearnGaelic - Dictionary‎^[3],2021

FromOld Frisianāre, fromProto-West Germanic*auʀā, from the voiced Verner alternant ofProto-Germanic*ausô, fromProto-Indo-European*h₂ṓws.

• IPA^(key):/ˈɪə̯r/

ear n (pluralearen,diminutiveearke)

1. ear

• earbel
• earring

• “ear (I)”, inWurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch),2011

FromMiddle Englisher, fromOld Englishǣr, fromProto-West Germanic*airi.

• IPA^(key):/ɛːr/
• Homophones:e'er,ere

ear

1. ere,before
   • 1867,GLOSSARY OF THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, page80:

     Ear yersthei.

     Ere yesterday.

• Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor,A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published1867,page37