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
