ear 1
— earless , adj. — earlike , adj.
/ear/ , n.
1. the organ of hearing and equilibrium in vertebrates, in humans consisting of an external ear that gathers sound vibrations, a middle ear in which the vibrations resonate against the tympanic membrane, and a fluid-filled internal ear that maintains balance and that conducts the tympanic vibrations to the auditory nerve, which transmits them as impulses to the brain.
2. the external ear alone: The hat completely covers his ears.
3. the sense of hearing: sounds that are pleasing to the ear.
4. keen or sensitive perception of the differences of sound, esp. sensitiveness to the quality and correctness of musical sounds: an ear for music; a violinist with a good ear.
5. attention; heed: to gain a person's ear.
6. any part that resembles or suggests an ear in position or form, as the handle of a teacup.
7. Archit. crossette.
8. Journalism. a small box in either upper corner of a newspaper page, usually the front page or split page, containing the name of or a symbol for the edition, a weather bulletin, a slogan, or the like.
9. Furniture.
a. a decorative feature at the upper end of a leg.
b. one of the decorative features at each end of a crest rail.
10. ears , Slang. earphones.
11. be all ears , Informal. to give all one's attention; listen: We were all ears as the scandal was revealed.
12. bend an ear , to listen attentively: to bend an ear to a request for aid.
13. bend someone's ear , Informal. to talk to someone uninterruptedly and often so as to induce boredom: He'll bend your ear for hours if given the chance.
14. by ear , without reference to written or printed music: to play the piano by ear.
15. fall on deaf ears , to be disregarded; pass unheeded: Their pleas for mercy fell on deaf ears.
16. give ear , to pay attention; listen carefully. Also, lend an ear .
17. go in one ear and out the other , to be heard but ignored; be put out of mind: My repeated warnings to her went in one ear and out the other.
18. have one's ears on , Slang. to be listening through earphones to a radio, cassette player, telephone communication, or the like.
19. have or keep one's ear to the ground , to keep well-informed about current trends; be shrewd or astute: Because she had her ear to the ground, she made a large fortune in stock speculation.
20. pin someone's ears back , Slang. to give a person a sound beating; defeat a person utterly: If he doesn't behave himself, I'll pin his ears back.
21. set by the ears , to cause to dispute or quarrel: He's a troublemaker who keeps trying to set the two other children by the ears.
22. set on one's ear or ears , to excite or stir up; shock; amaze: The presence of the movie star set the whole town on its ear.
23. turn a deaf ear to , to refuse to listen to or consider (a request, petition, etc.): He turns a deaf ear to requests for loans.
24. up to one's ears , deeply involved or occupied to full capacity: We are up to our ears in work.
25. wet behind the ears . See wet (def. 11).
[ bef. 900; ME ere, OE eare; c. ON eyra, G Ohr, Goth auso, L auris, Lith ausìs, Gk oûs ]
ear 2
/ear/ , n.
1. the part of a cereal plant, as corn, wheat, etc., that contains the flowers and hence the fruit, grains, or kernels.
v.i.
2. to form or put forth ears.
[ bef. 900; ME ere, OE ear, aehher; c. G Ahre, ON ax, Goth ahs ear, L acus husk ]
ear 3
/ear/ , v.t. Brit. Dial.
to plow; cultivate.
[ bef. 900; ME ere ( n ), OE erian; c. ON erja, Goth arjan, L arare ]