noun
1 part of the body
ADJ.
left, right | inner, middle, outer | big, large | long
a rabbit with long floppy ears
| pointed/pointy | floppy | torn
Blood from his torn ear was soaking his collar.
| sharp
His sharp ears had picked up the uncertainty in her voice.
| trained
To the trained ear the calls of these birds sound quite different.
| listening
In the silence everyone seemed to be aware of listening ears.
| receptive, sympathetic
She did not like the scheme, as she made clear every time she found a receptive ear (= sb willing to listen). The counsellor provided a sympathetic ear for students with problems.
VERB + EAR
plug
He plugged his ears with tissue paper to drown out the music.
| close, shut, stop
At first I stopped my ears to what I did not want to hear.
| strain
I strained my ears to catch the conversation in the other room.
| prick up
The dog pricked up its ears.
| flatten, lay back, put back
A horse may show annoyance by putting its ears back.
| pierce
I've just had my ears pierced so I'm going to buy some earrings.
| syringe
He could hear much better after having his ears syringed.
| echo in, ring in
The voices buzzing all around echoed in her ears. He went home with the teacher's warning ringing in his ears.
| hiss in, whisper (sth) in | reach
If news of the break-in reaches the boss's ears, we're in trouble.
EAR + VERB
hear sth, pick sth up
When the notes are played so close together the ear hears no space between them.
| prick (up), twitch
His ears pricked up when he heard his name mentioned.
| be alert
He waited in the darkness, his ears alert for the slightest sound.
| strain
She stood outside the room, her ears straining to hear what they were saying.
| pop
If you suck a sweet as the plane takes off it stops your ears popping.
| ring
The explosion set my ears ringing and even made me jump a bit.
EAR + NOUN
canal, drum, lobe | infection | plug, protector | flap, muffs
She put on her ear muffs and went out into the snow.
| wax
PREP.
in your ~
‘Taxi?’ said a voice in my ear.
PHRASES
beam/grin/smile from ear to ear, can't believe your ears
She actually apologized. I couldn't believe my ears!
| (drop/have) a word in sb's ear
Drop a quiet word in her ear about it before it's too late.
| 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 your ears open
I'll keep my ears open for a second-hand bike for you.
| music to sb's ears
He arrived home hungry, and the noise of saucepans from the kitchen was music to his ears.
| turn a deaf ear to sth
The teacher turned a deaf ear to the boy's swearing (= ignored it).
| with half an ear
He listened to her with only half an ear as he watched TV.
2 ability to recognize sounds
ADJ.
fine, good
VERB + EAR
have
PREP.
by ~
She usually plays the guitar by ear, rather than reading the music.
| ~ for
He has a good ear for accents and can usually tell where a speaker comes from.
Random quote: Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.: Marie Curie
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