ear

/ɪər/

/ɪə/

Other forms: ears

Your ears are the parts of your body you use for hearing. Your ears also help you keep your balance.

People have one ear on each side of their heads, and so do all animals, although some — like sea creatures — have ears that are completely internal, with no visible parts. If someone compliments you by saying, "Good ear," they mean that you're skilled at hearing or appreciating certain sounds, particularly music. A completely different kind of ear is an ear of corn, the part that holds the seeds or kernels.

Definitions of ear

1. noun

   the sense organ for hearing and equilibrium
   type of:

   receptor, sense organ, sensory receptor

   an organ having nerve endings (in the skin or eye or ear or nose or mouth) that respond to stimulation
2. noun

   the externally visible cartilaginous structure of the external ear
   synonyms: auricle, pinna

   types:

   cauliflower ear

   an auricle deformed by injury; common among boxers

   type of:

   cartilaginous structure

   body structure given shape by cartilage
3. noun

   good hearing
   “he had a keen ear”

   “a good ear for pitch”

   type of:

   audition, auditory modality, auditory sense, hearing, sense of hearing

   the ability to hear; the auditory faculty
4. noun

   attention to what is said
   “he tried to get her ear”

   type of:

   attending, attention

   the process whereby a person concentrates on some features of the environment to the (relative) exclusion of others
5. noun

   fruiting spike of a cereal plant especially corn
   synonyms: capitulum, spike

   types:

   mealie

   an ear of corn

   type of:

   fruit

   the ripened reproductive body of a seed plant