- ear
- noun1 part of the bodyADJECTIVE▪ 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.
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 soundsADJECTIVE▪ 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.
