ear

/ˈɪə̯/

//ˈɪə̯// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"ear" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“ear” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #3,425 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#3,425
frequency rank, English
3
letters
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The organ of hearing, consisting of the pinna or auricle, auditory canal, eardrum, malleus, incus, stapes and cochlea.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

ear vs ex
33% similar
ear vs ed
33% similar
ear vs et
33% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for ear
PropertyValue
Headwordear
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɪə̯/
Letters3
Frequency rank#3,425
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “ear” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). ear lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for ear is 3 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈɪə̯/. Corpus data places it at rank #3,425 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 12 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for ear, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "ex", "ed", "et", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂ew- Proto-Indo-European *-s Proto-Indo-European *h₂ṓws Proto-Germanic *ausô Proto-West Germanic *auʀā Old English ēare Middle English ere English ear From Middle English ere, eare, from Old English ēare (“ear”), from Pr… The correct English form is ear, spelled E-A-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    The organ of hearing, consisting of the pinna or auricle, auditory canal, eardrum, malleus, incus, stapes and cochlea.
  2. 2
    The external part of the organ of hearing, the auricle.
  3. 3
    A police informant.
  4. 4
    The sense of hearing; the perception of sounds; skill or good taste in listening to music.
  5. 5
    The privilege of being kindly heard; favour; attention.
  6. 6
    That which resembles in shape or position the ear of an animal; a prominence or projection on an object, usually for support or attachment; a lug; a handle; a foot-rest or step of a spade or a similar digging tool.
  7. 7
    An acroterium.
  8. 8
    A crossette.
  9. 9
    A space to the left or right of a publication's front-page title, used for advertising, weather, etc.
  10. 10
    A curled ridge in the crust of a loaf of bread where the dough was slashed before going into the oven and expands during baking.
  11. 11
    The outer panels or flaps (protrusions) of a diaper upon which the fasteners are located, which are fastened around the wearer's waist.
  12. 12
    A path whose endpoints may coincide but in which otherwise there are no repetitions of vertices or edges.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂ew- Proto-Indo-European *-s Proto-Indo-European *h₂ṓws Proto-Germanic *ausô Proto-West Germanic *auʀā Old English ēare Middle English ere English ear From Middle English ere, eare, from Old English ēare (“ear”), from Proto-West Germanic *auʀā, from the voiced Verner alternant of Proto-Germanic *ausô (“ear”) (compare Scots ere, er, eir, West Frisian ear, Dutch oor, German Ohr, Swedish öra, Danish øre), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ṓws (compare Old Irish áu, Latin auris, Lithuanian ausi̇̀s, Russian у́хо (úxo), Albanian vesh, Ancient Greek οὖς (oûs), and Old Armenian ունկն (unkn).

Synonyms

earearballKing Learlistenerlugshell-like

This word in other languages

oído(Español)oreille(Français)Ohr(Deutsch)ouvido(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "ear"?
"ear" is spelled E-A-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɪə̯/.
What does "ear" mean?
As a noun, "ear" means: The organ of hearing, consisting of the pinna or auricle, auditory canal, eardrum, malleus, incus, stapes and cochlea.
What words are commonly confused with "ear"?
"ear" is commonly confused with "ex", "ed", "et". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "ear"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ear" is /ˈɪə̯/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "ear"?
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂ew- Proto-Indo-European *-s Proto-Indo-European *h₂ṓws Proto-Germanic *ausô Proto-West Germanic *auʀā Old English ēare Middle English ere English ear From Middle English ere, eare, from Old English ēare (“ear”... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “ear”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is E-A-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈɪə̯/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “ex” - see the side-by-side comparison. ear vs ex
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list