"earball" meaning in English

See earball in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

IPA: /ˈɪə.bɔːl/ [Received-Pronunciation], /ˈɪəɹ.bɔl/ [General-American], /ˈɪəɹ.bɑl/ [cot-caught-merger] Forms: earballs [plural], ear ball [alternative]
Rhymes: -ɪə(ɹ)bɔːl Etymology: From ear + ball. Noun sense 1 and verb sense 1 is modeled after eyeball. Etymology templates: {{com|en|ear|ball}} ear + ball, {{langname|en}} English, {{senseno|en|Q7362}} sense 1, {{langname|en}} English, {{senseno|en|Q6646450}} sense 1 Head templates: {{en-noun}} earball (plural earballs)
  1. (usually in the plural) The ear. Wikidata QID: Q7362 Tags: plural-normally Synonyms: ear
    Sense id: en-earball-en-noun-en:Q7362 Categories (other): English terms with collocations
  2. The act or an instance of listening.
    Sense id: en-earball-en-noun-WgvKhYc6
  3. (acupuncture) A small ball kept in position in the ear and pressed when needed to relieve stress.
    Sense id: en-earball-en-noun-Nv5Hgzps Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Pages with entries Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 15 11 70 3 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 3 3 43 3 46 1 1

Verb

IPA: /ˈɪə.bɔːl/ [Received-Pronunciation], /ˈɪəɹ.bɔl/ [General-American], /ˈɪəɹ.bɑl/ [cot-caught-merger] Forms: earballs [present, singular, third-person], earballing [participle, present], earballed [participle, past], earballed [past], ear ball [alternative]
Rhymes: -ɪə(ɹ)bɔːl Etymology: From ear + ball. Noun sense 1 and verb sense 1 is modeled after eyeball. Etymology templates: {{com|en|ear|ball}} ear + ball, {{langname|en}} English, {{senseno|en|Q7362}} sense 1, {{langname|en}} English, {{senseno|en|Q6646450}} sense 1 Head templates: {{en-verb}} earball (third-person singular simple present earballs, present participle earballing, simple past and past participle earballed)
  1. (transitive) To listen, especially to check. Wikidata QID: Q6646450 Tags: transitive Synonyms: listen
    Sense id: en-earball-en-verb-en:Q6646450

Inflected forms

Alternative forms

{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ear",
        "3": "ball"
      },
      "expansion": "ear + ball",
      "name": "com"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en"
      },
      "expansion": "English",
      "name": "langname"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "Q7362"
      },
      "expansion": "sense 1",
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    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en"
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      "expansion": "English",
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        "1": "en",
        "2": "Q6646450"
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      "expansion": "sense 1",
      "name": "senseno"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From ear + ball. Noun sense 1 and verb sense 1 is modeled after eyeball.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "earballs",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "ear ball",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "earball (plural earballs)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenation": [
    "ear‧ball"
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English terms with collocations",
          "parents": [
            "Terms with collocations",
            "Entry maintenance"
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          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "to keep one's earballs open",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "text": "up to one's earballs",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "text": "My earballs hurt from listening to this.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2023 September 25, Deviant Ollam, 6:29 from the start, in Deviant's Travel Bag Breakdown (video), YouTube:",
          "text": "I will occasionally put these [earbuds] in. We've talked occasionally on the channel about my hearing problems, and we'll do another video about protecting your earballs and such […]",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2023 December 26, @Clippers_steve, Twitter:",
          "text": "Spotify won't miss tonight. Just fondling my earballs perfectly",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2025 January 7, @westeawest, Twitter:",
          "text": "Is explode a transitive verb? It sounds weird to my earballs.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "The ear."
      ],
      "id": "en-earball-en-noun-en:Q7362",
      "links": [
        [
          "ear",
          "ear"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(usually in the plural) The ear."
      ],
      "senseid": [
        "en:Q7362"
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "ear"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "plural-normally"
      ],
      "wikidata": [
        "Q7362"
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "The act or an instance of listening."
      ],
      "id": "en-earball-en-noun-WgvKhYc6",
      "links": [
        [
          "listening",
          "listening"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "15 11 70 3",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "3 3 43 3 46 1 1",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A small ball kept in position in the ear and pressed when needed to relieve stress."
      ],
      "id": "en-earball-en-noun-Nv5Hgzps",
      "links": [
        [
          "ball",
          "ball"
        ],
        [
          "ear",
          "ear"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(acupuncture) A small ball kept in position in the ear and pressed when needed to relieve stress."
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈɪə.bɔːl/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈɪəɹ.bɔl/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈɪəɹ.bɑl/",
      "tags": [
        "cot-caught-merger"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɪə(ɹ)bɔːl"
    }
  ],
  "word": "earball"
}

{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ear",
        "3": "ball"
      },
      "expansion": "ear + ball",
      "name": "com"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en"
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      "expansion": "English",
      "name": "langname"
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        "1": "en",
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      "expansion": "sense 1",
      "name": "senseno"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From ear + ball. Noun sense 1 and verb sense 1 is modeled after eyeball.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "earballs",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "earballing",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "earballed",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "earballed",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "ear ball",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "earball (third-person singular simple present earballs, present participle earballing, simple past and past participle earballed)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenation": [
    "ear‧ball"
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [],
      "glosses": [
        "To listen, especially to check."
      ],
      "id": "en-earball-en-verb-en:Q6646450",
      "links": [
        [
          "listen",
          "listen"
        ],
        [
          "check",
          "check"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive) To listen, especially to check."
      ],
      "senseid": [
        "en:Q6646450"
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "listen"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
      ],
      "wikidata": [
        "Q6646450"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈɪə.bɔːl/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈɪəɹ.bɔl/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈɪəɹ.bɑl/",
      "tags": [
        "cot-caught-merger"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɪə(ɹ)bɔːl"
    }
  ],
  "word": "earball"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English compound terms",
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English verbs",
    "Pages with 3 entries",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Rhymes:English/ɪə(ɹ)bɔːl",
    "Rhymes:English/ɪə(ɹ)bɔːl/2 syllables",
    "gd-noun 2",
    "gd:Anatomy",
    "gd:Clothing"
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
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      "args": {
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        "2": "ear",
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      "args": {
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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "Q6646450"
      },
      "expansion": "sense 1",
      "name": "senseno"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From ear + ball. Noun sense 1 and verb sense 1 is modeled after eyeball.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "earballs",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "ear ball",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "earball (plural earballs)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenation": [
    "ear‧ball"
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with collocations",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "to keep one's earballs open",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "text": "up to one's earballs",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "text": "My earballs hurt from listening to this.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2023 September 25, Deviant Ollam, 6:29 from the start, in Deviant's Travel Bag Breakdown (video), YouTube:",
          "text": "I will occasionally put these [earbuds] in. We've talked occasionally on the channel about my hearing problems, and we'll do another video about protecting your earballs and such […]",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2023 December 26, @Clippers_steve, Twitter:",
          "text": "Spotify won't miss tonight. Just fondling my earballs perfectly",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2025 January 7, @westeawest, Twitter:",
          "text": "Is explode a transitive verb? It sounds weird to my earballs.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "The ear."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "ear",
          "ear"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(usually in the plural) The ear."
      ],
      "senseid": [
        "en:Q7362"
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "ear"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "plural-normally"
      ],
      "wikidata": [
        "Q7362"
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "The act or an instance of listening."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "listening",
          "listening"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "A small ball kept in position in the ear and pressed when needed to relieve stress."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "ball",
          "ball"
        ],
        [
          "ear",
          "ear"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(acupuncture) A small ball kept in position in the ear and pressed when needed to relieve stress."
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈɪə.bɔːl/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈɪəɹ.bɔl/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈɪəɹ.bɑl/",
      "tags": [
        "cot-caught-merger"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɪə(ɹ)bɔːl"
    }
  ],
  "word": "earball"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "English compound terms",
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English verbs",
    "Pages with 3 entries",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Rhymes:English/ɪə(ɹ)bɔːl",
    "Rhymes:English/ɪə(ɹ)bɔːl/2 syllables",
    "gd-noun 2",
    "gd:Anatomy",
    "gd:Clothing"
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
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        "2": "Q6646450"
      },
      "expansion": "sense 1",
      "name": "senseno"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From ear + ball. Noun sense 1 and verb sense 1 is modeled after eyeball.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "earballs",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "earballing",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "earballed",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "earballed",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "ear ball",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "earball (third-person singular simple present earballs, present participle earballing, simple past and past participle earballed)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenation": [
    "ear‧ball"
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English transitive verbs"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To listen, especially to check."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "listen",
          "listen"
        ],
        [
          "check",
          "check"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive) To listen, especially to check."
      ],
      "senseid": [
        "en:Q6646450"
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "listen"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
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      "wikidata": [
        "Q6646450"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈɪə.bɔːl/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈɪəɹ.bɔl/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈɪəɹ.bɑl/",
      "tags": [
        "cot-caught-merger"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɪə(ɹ)bɔːl"
    }
  ],
  "word": "earball"
}

Download raw JSONL data for earball meaning in English (4.8kB)

{
  "called_from": "form_descriptions/1831",
  "msg": "unrecognized sense qualifier: acupuncture",
  "path": [
    "earball"
  ],
  "section": "English",
  "subsection": "noun",
  "title": "earball",
  "trace": ""
}

{
  "called_from": "form_descriptions/1831",
  "msg": "unrecognized sense qualifier: acupuncture",
  "path": [
    "earball"
  ],
  "section": "English",
  "subsection": "noun",
  "title": "earball",
  "trace": ""
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-03-26 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-03-21 using wiktextract (fef8596 and 633533e). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.