ear

ear
noun
1 part of the body
ADJECTIVE
left, right
inner, middle
external, outer
big, large
long

a rabbit with long floppy ears

pointed, pointy
floppy
pierced
torn

Blood from his torn ear was soaking his collar.

listening

In the silence everyone seemed to be aware of listening ears.

sensitive

Blackbirds have such sensitive ears that they can hear a worm moving beneath soil three feet away.

human

Dogs can hear things that human ears can't hear.

attentive, open (BrE), receptive, sympathetic

Even if my fears were silly, he always had an open ear.

She did not like the plan, as she made clear every time she found a receptive ear (= sb willing to listen).

She always provided a sympathetic ear for students with problems.

modern

Some of the words used in 18th-century writing sound strange to modern ears.

Western

Chinese music uses a scale that is unfamiliar to Western ears.

VERB + EAR
plug, stop

He plugged his ears to drown out the music.

At first I stopped my ears to what I did not want to hear.

block, close, cover, shut

The music was so loud I had to cover my ears.

strain

I strained my ears to catch the conversation in the other room.

cock, prick up

The dog pricked up its ears.

flatten, lay back, pin back, put back

A horse may show annoyance by putting its ears back.

flick, twitch

The horse lifted its head and flicked its ears.

nibble, nibble on, nuzzle

She nibbled on his ear.

pierce

I've just had my ears pierced.

clean, clean out, syringe (BrE)

He could hear much better after having his ears cleaned out.

echo in, pound in, ring in

The voices buzzing all around echoed in her ears.

My heart was pounding in my ears.

He went home with the teacher's warning ringing in his ears.

fill, flood

The sound of the blast filled my ears.

assault, greet, hit, meet, strike

A blast of punk rock music assaulted her ears.

reach

If news of the break-in reaches the boss's ears, we're in trouble.

hurt

The music was so loud that it hurt my ears.

hiss in, whisper (sth) in
shout in, yell in
press

He pressed his ear to the door, but heard nothing.

EAR + VERB
catch sth, detect sth, hear sth, pick sth up

When the notes are played so close together the ear hears no space between them.

prick, prick up, twitch

His ears pricked up when he heard his name mentioned.

tell sb sth

She couldn't see, but her ears told her that the guards had arrived.

be alert, listen

He waited in the darkness, his ears alert for the slightest sound.

Her ears listened expectantly.

strain

She stood outside the room, her ears straining to hear what they were saying.

pop

If you swallow as the plane takes off, it stops your ears from popping.

ring

The explosion set my ears ringing.

ache, hurt, pound
redden

Christopher felt his ears reddening.

stick out

He has really big ears that stick out.

EAR + NOUN
canal, drum, lobe
infection, problem
wax (usually earwax)
drops
plug (usually earplug), protector
protection
flap, muffs (usually earmuffs)

She put on her earmuffs and went out into the snow.

a big hat with ear flaps

buds (esp. AmE), phones, piece, set (usually earbuds, earphones, etc.)

I love my portable music player, but I hate earbuds.

tag

Each animal receives an individual ear tag.

piercing

He had three ear piercings.

cuff ⇨ See also ↑earring
PREPOSITION
in your ear

‘Taxi?’ said a voice in my ear.

PHRASES
be all ears

Come on, tell me, I'm all ears (= I want to hear).

beam, grin, smile, etc. from ear to ear

He was beaming from ear to ear.

bend sb's ear (= talk a lot to someone about something)

She bent my ear about it for three days.

can't believe your ears

She actually apologized. I couldn't believe my ears!

catch sb's ear

A small noise caught his ear.

clap, hold, put, etc. your hands over your ears

She put her hands over her ears to block out what he was saying.

(have) a word in sb's ear (esp. BrE)

Have a quiet word in her ear about it before it's too late.

sb's ears are burning (= a person thinks that someone is talking about them)

‘We were talking about you last night.’ ‘I thought my ears were burning.’

fall on deaf ears

Their complaints about the poor service fell on deaf ears (= were ignored).

for sb's ears alone

I have a few words for your ears alone.

keep an ear open, keep your ears open

I'll keep my eyes and ears open for a second-hand bike for you.

lend an ear (= listen to what someone is saying)

He was always willing to lend an ear.

music to sb's ears

He arrived home hungry, and the noise from the kitchen was music to his ears.

go in one ear and out the other

I knew that my words were going in one ear and out the other (= the person wasn't listening to what I was saying).

have sb's ear

This was the woman who had the ear of the President.

(= was trusted by him/her)
talk sb's ear off

I'm sorry for talking your ear off.

(= talking a lot)
turn a deaf ear to sth

The teacher turned a deaf ear to the boy's requests (= ignored them).

with half an ear

He listened to her with only half an ear as he watched TV.

2 ability to recognize sounds
ADJECTIVE
fine, good, keen, sharp

He has a keen ear for dialogue.

His sharp ears had picked up the uncertainty in her voice.

trained, untrained

To the trained ear the calls of these birds sound quite different.

VERB + EAR
have
attune

It takes time to attune your ear to the local accent.

PREPOSITION
by ear

She usually plays the guitar by ear, rather than reading the music.

ear for

He has a good ear for accents and can usually tell where a speaker comes from.

PHRASES
have a tin ear for sth (esp. AmE)

She has a tin ear for melody (= does not appreciate it).


Collocations dictionary. 2013.

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  • ear — W2S2 [ıə US ır] n ↑ear, ↑nose, ↑tooth, ↑eye ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1¦(part of your body)¦ 2¦(hearing)¦ 3¦(grain)¦ 4 smile/grin etc from ear to ear 5 6 a sympathetic ear 7 close/shut your ears to something …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • Ear — Ear, n. [AS. e[ a]re; akin to OFries. [ a]re, [ a]r, OS. ?ra, D. oor, OHG. ?ra, G. ohr, Icel. eyra, Sw. [ o]ra, Dan. [ o]re, Goth. auso, L. auris, Lith. ausis, Russ. ukho, Gr. ?; cf. L. audire to hear, Gr. ?, Skr. av to favor, protect. Cf.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • ear — ear1 [ir] n. [ME ere < OE ēare akin to Goth ausō, Ger ohr < IE base * ous , ear > L auris, Gr ous, OIr au] 1. the part of the body specialized for the perception of sound; organ of hearing: the human ear consists of the external ear, the …   English World dictionary

  • ear — [ ır ] noun *** 1. ) count one of the two parts at the sides of your head that you hear with: He whispered something in her ear. 2. ) singular the ability to hear and judge sounds: She has a very good ear for music. 3. ) count the part at the top …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • Ear — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Nombre Anglosajón Ear tumba Forma Futhorc …   Wikipedia Español

  • ear — Ⅰ. ear [1] ► NOUN 1) the organ of hearing and balance in humans and other vertebrates. 2) the fleshy external part of this organ. 3) (in other animals) an organ sensitive to sound. 4) an ability to recognize and appreciate music or language. 5)… …   English terms dictionary

  • ear — for hearing and ear of corn seem in some way to belong together, but in fact they are two quite distinct words etymologically. Ear for hearing [OE] is an ancient term that goes right back to the Indo European roots of the language. Its ancestor… …   The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins

  • ear — for hearing and ear of corn seem in some way to belong together, but in fact they are two quite distinct words etymologically. Ear for hearing [OE] is an ancient term that goes right back to the Indo European roots of the language. Its ancestor… …   Word origins

  • Ear — Ear, n. [AS. ear; akin to D. aar, OHG. ahir, G. [ a]hre, Icel., Sw., & Dan. ax, Goth. ahs. ???. Cf. {Awn}, {Edge}.] The spike or head of any cereal (as, wheat, rye, barley, Indian corn, etc.), containing the kernels. [1913 Webster] First the… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • EAR — steht für: East African Railways, eine Bahngesellschaft der drei ostafrikanischen Staaten Kenia, Uganda und Tansania Einnahmen Ausgaben Rechnung, im Steuerrecht, siehe Einnahmenüberschussrechnung Elektro Altgeräte Register, siehe Elektro und… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Ear — Ear, v. t. [OE. erien, AS. erian; akin to OFries. era, OHG. erran, MHG. eren, ern, Prov. G. aren, [ a]ren, Icel. erja, Goth. arjan, Lith. arti, OSlav. orati, L. arare, Gr. ?. Cf. {Arable}.] To plow or till; to cultivate. To ear the land. Shak.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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