eardrum

[ eer-druhm ]

/ ˈɪərˌdrʌm /

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noun Anatomy, Zoology.

a membrane in the ear canal between the external ear and the middle ear; tympanic membrane.

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Origin of eardrum

First recorded in 1635–45; ear¹ + drum¹

Words nearby eardrum

earbob, earbud, ear candy, eardrop, ear drops, eardrum, eared, eared seal, earflap, earful, ear fungus

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use eardrum in a sentence

Their ears are smaller, which means loud noises can be perceived as 20 dB louder than what an adult eardrum would process.
The best kids’ headphones let them listen more and you worry less|Tony Ware|August 25, 2021|Popular-Science
Bone-conduction headphones allow you to experience audio sans any direct interaction with your ear canal or eardrum.
The best bone-conduction headphones for sound and safety|Tony Ware|August 23, 2021|Popular-Science
Look for clear discharge from the nose or ears, bruises around the eyes or behind the ears, and blood in the eardrums.
Could Biomarkers Be the Key to Concussion Recovery?|Christie Aschwanden|June 30, 2021|Outside Online
How precisely the lungs quiet these sounds at the eardrum remains unclear, but the net effect is a significant reduction in environmental noise that allows females to focus on the calls that matter, the researchers say.
Female green tree frogs have noise-canceling lungs that help them hear mates|Jonathan Lambert|March 4, 2021|Science News

An eardrum is just taut tissue that vibrates when sound waves hit it, ultimately translating the bleating and buzzing of the natural world into signals that get processed in the brain.
Female green tree frogs have noise-canceling lungs that help them hear mates|Jonathan Lambert|March 4, 2021|Science News
An earache in a child with a perfectly normal exam is more difficult to figure out than one with a bulging and inflamed eardrum.
DEA's Painkiller Crackdown Too Little, Too Late?|Russell Saunders|August 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He also failed a drug test and allegedly hit a bouncer so hard he punctured his eardrum.
Sham Classes and Crime Coverups Are the NCAA Normal|Robert Silverman|June 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The chants grew louder before reaching an eardrum-piercing crescendo when the 2013 Arab Idol glided on stage.
Gaza to Jersey: A Star is Born|Maysoon Zayid|November 25, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Monsieur Le Grand drummed till my own eardrum was nearly cracked.
The Best of the World's Classics, Restricted to Prose, Vol. VIII (of X) - Continental Europe II.|Various
But that burden of sound was almost too over-ponderous for the bethundered eardrum!
The Last Miracle|M. P. Shiel
There was no speckle of light to classify and ignore, no susurrus of air molecules raining against the eardrum.
Instinct|George Oliver Smith
If a shell goes off too near you and the eardrum suffers, Dr. McKernon will be on the job to find out if he can't make a new one.
The Stars & Stripes, Vol 1, No 1, February 8, 1918|American Expeditionary Forces
So do the adjacent molecules of air and so does the eardrum of a listener.
Letters of a Radio-Engineer to His Son|John Mills

British Dictionary definitions for eardrum

eardrum

/ (ˈɪəˌdrʌm) /

noun

the nontechnical name for tympanic membrane

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for eardrum

eardrum

[ îr′drŭm′ ]

The thin, oval-shaped membrane that separates the middle ear from the outer ear. It vibrates in response to sound waves, which are then transmitted to the ossicles of the middle ear. Also called tympanic membrane

Cultural definitions for eardrum

eardrum

The membrane that divides the outer ear from the middle ear. The vibrations of this membrane in response to sound waves lead to the sensation of hearing. Also called the tympanic membrane.

eardrum

Origin of eardrum

Words nearby eardrum

Words related to eardrum

How to use eardrum in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for eardrum

Scientific definitions for eardrum

Cultural definitions for eardrum